Matthew King, 19, has been sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison for planning terror attacks on British police and soldiers
The judge passed a life sentence - King will not be automatically released after six years
The Islamic State convert was caught carrying out reconnaissance of police stations, railway stations and an army barracks in 2021 and 2022
King, from Wickford in Essex, also planned to travel to Syria
He was put under police surveillance after his mother reported him to anti-extremism agency Prevent
At one point, King changed his WhatsApp status to "kill the non-Muslims, wherever you see them"
Dulcie Lee
Live reporter
We're going to end our live coverage here.
For all the details on today's story, you can read our main article here.
Updates were brought to you by Aoife Walsh and Francesca Gillett, video was edited by James Harness, and Thomas Mackintosh and Daniel Sandford were reporting from the Old Bailey.
Image source, Met PoliceThat's it from the sentencing - 19-year-old Matthew King has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years.
King - who became radicalised as a teenager during the pandemic - plotted a terror attack on British police officers or soldiers.
But his desires were thwarted when his mother reported him to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme - something the judge praised for being "very bold" and "absolutely the right thing" to do.
Judge Lucraft also said:
Watch the moment he was sentenced below:
During his sentencing remarks, Judge Mark Lucraft said an Essex mosque told King he was "no longer welcome", and he changed his WhatsApp status to "kill the non-Muslims".
Watch what the judge said below:
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court
In deciding King's sentence, the judge has had to consider his dangerousness and any potential serious risk he may pose to the public in the future.
In his view, the prison material presented to the court this morning showed an unclear picture of King - something he felt was concerning enough to give King a discretionary life sentence.
King’s guilty plea entitled him to three years off the minimum term the judge would have imposed had the case gone to trial.
He has been in custody since his arrest last May, so that time (just over one year) will count towards his overall minimum term of six years.
This means he will have at least another five years in prison before he is considered for release by the parole board.
We can now show you footage from the Metropolitan Police of Matthew King walking around Stratford in east London.
The CCTV images show King cross a road towards the magistrates’ court, shortly after filming four police officers standing outside.
He then walks past the uniformed officers, heading towards The Broadway.
CCTV shows Matthew King walking around east London
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court
Matthew King showed little to no emotion as the sentence was read out.
He stood up, listened to the passing of his sentence and walked away after being asked to be taken down to the cells.
The courtroom emptied just as quickly, with only a handful of journalists staying in the press bench to report the results to their respective newsrooms.
Now the sentencing has finished, we’re allowed to publish these photos of King that the Met Police gathered as part of the case.
Three photos show items of his clothing - a jacket, black gloves and dark glasses - and there’s also a photo of King taken on a railway station platform.
Image source, Met Police
Image source, Met Police
Image source, Met Police
Image source, Met PoliceThe judge says whether 19-year-old King will be released at the end of the six-year minimum term is a matter for the parole board.
If he is released, he will be on licence and liable to be recalled to prison for the rest of his life.
The judge sentences King to a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term of six years in prison, minus the 367 days that he’s been in custody already.
Continuing his sentencing, Judge Lucraft says he has King's age - 19 - and maturity in his mind.
Young people mature at different stages, he says, but that has to be put into the mix alongside the observations of others.
But future risk is the key issue in this case, he says, and assessing risks is a very different task in terrorism cases.
He says the threshold for dangerousness is passed. You are someone who puts the public at risk, he tells King.
The judge is now speaking about a letter he received from King's mother from 13 April, where she sets out her support for him.
King's mother says his father and sisters will support him in custody and after his release.
She also says King's views have changed while in custody through his engagement with a mentor and after time to think and reflect.
King's mother says he has expressed regret to her over his actions.
Image source, PoolThe judge tells the court an officer in prison overheard King tell his mother he needs to start training.
The judge says King told her he needs to eat more protein because he wanted to be "a machine" when he got out of prison.
King also told her he hadn't done anything wrong in his eyes, the judge adds.
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court
Reading from notes from his laptop, Judge Mark Lucraft has occasionally looked up to make eye contact with King.
King, wearing a dark grey T-shirt with a black gilet jacket, sits listening while often sipping water from a cup.
The judge says in May last year, King was exchanging comments online with Miss A.
In the messages, he talks about waging war and training for jihad - and Miss A is "encouraging in her responses".
In one comment, he wrote: "Tbh [to be honest] I just want to get my hands on an American marine or British marine."
The judge says King told a girl that the court is calling Miss A that he planned to "die a martyr" in Syria.
Miss A responded supportively, the judge says.
The judge adds that in further exchanges, King made the comment "lets race for it".
King changed his WhatsApp status to "kill the non-Muslims, wherever you see them", says the judge, as he lists some of King's behaviour.
Members of the mosques you attended warned you about your behaviour, the judge tells King.
The judge says King registered as a customer for Knife Warehouse and signed up for their newsletters.
King did not make any orders, but soon after in January 2022, King searched online for Isis knife tactical training videos, the judge adds.
He says the last login to the Knife Warehouse was on 3 January 2022.
In March 2022, King made notes on his phone about detonating homemade bombs, the judge says.
He adds that King recorded a video at Stratford train station, which shows the back of a uniformed police officer.
The judge says over time, King began to wear more Islamic clothing and by May 2021 was attending a mosque in Stratford.
His family noticed his behaviour had become more extreme.
Some of the online videos he showed his mother were of a concern to her, and when she commented about them having a negative influence on him, he denied it.
King's mother was concerned the material was promoting hatred - but King denied it, saying he was watching videos to educate himself and did not believe in terrorism.
His mother "very correctly made contact with Prevent," he says.
The judge says King "dabbled in drugs" and was expelled from school after his behaviour became more aggressive.
He says King's behaviour deteriorated and it was noted he would return home stoned and would argue with his mother.
He left education at 16 with no qualifications, the judge adds.
The judge tells King that it is clear he had developed an entrenched Islamist mindset with extreme anti-Western views, and he intended to commit terror attacks both in the UK and overseas.