Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

Turning to an event on 31 March 2022, defence barrister Zahir says King purchased some gloves and goggles from an army service store.

"The closest he came to using them was dressing up and asking his sister if she liked the outfit," Zahir says.

Months later, Zahir explains King took photos of officers at Stratford in east London, images of Stratford railway station and some barracks which were also in the area - but that was as far as it went, he tells the court.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

Zahir accepts King discussed plans to get to Syria.

"He made videos expressing his support and admiration of acts of violence carried out by IS [Islamic State]," Zahir says.

"Although his intention was to travel to Syria, no steps were taken such as purchasing tickets or necessary travel documents.

"His preparations were therefore not far advanced."

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

Touching on King's guilty plea, his defence barrister Zahir says this was entered at the earliest possible stage.

"The defendant's conduct in this case was in its infancy," Zahir tells the court.

"He was far from carrying out an act of terrorism."

Zahir describes King's behaviour as immature.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

King's defence barrister Hossein Zahir KC is beginning his mitigation arguments.

He says he will touch on aggravating and mitigating circumstances as well as dealing with some of the prison reports.

"His family don't appear today. They found it extremely difficult today... There was a degree of intrusive interest," he says.

Support is very firmly there, Zahir adds.

The judge praises King's mother for raising concerns to Prevent about her son's activities.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

Matthew King has just walked into the dock - he's wearing a grey T-shirt and a black gilet.

King is flanked by one dock officer who is sitting at the corner of the dock. The public gallery remains empty.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC also enters the courtroom and is now addressing the defence counsel to see if matters have been addressed from the previous hearing last month.

Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from court

Reporters have just been called into courtroom six here at the Old Bailey in central London.

The media interest is fairly big in this case so I am sitting in the space usually reserved for the jury, rather than the press box.

The dock, where Matthew King is expected to appear shortly, is currently empty. The public gallery above the courtroom is also empty.

This will be a shorter hearing than normal because three weeks ago the prosecution laid out the facts of the case and laid out aggravating factors for King's offending.

We'll hear today from the defence mitigation and the judge will rise.

Shortly after that, he will give out the sentence.

We’ve previously heard in court a bit about King’s life - including that he had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school.

He was expelled and eventually left education aged 16 with no qualifications.

In 2020, he converted to Islam and at first, his behaviour improved, the prosecution said - but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest and attended mosques wearing combat clothing.

Then in 2022, King began carrying out reconnaissance in east London, including on police officers patrolling in Stratford. He was also seen on CCTV filming after dark outside a barracks in east London.

One of the videos found on his phone recorded near a police station was overlaid with a soundtrack including the words: "Coldly kill them with hate and rage. Plan your perfect killing spree."

We're expecting the sentencing hearing to begin in the next few minutes, but Matthew King was originally due to be sentenced three weeks ago.

Midway through that hearing the judge decided to delay it.

It came after the court heard that intelligence reports suggested King said he would “behead the imam” in Wandsworth prison, where he was being held.

King's defence barrister, Hossein Zahir KC, said the comment was "a throwaway remark by an angry young man being stuck in his cell".

The Old Bailey judge adjourned the sentencing so that further inquiries could be made at the prison.

The court has previously heard how King was put under surveillance after his mother reported him to Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorism programme.

She was concerned that some of the videos he was watching promoted hatred.

Several of the mosques he had been attending also warned him about his behaviour, and one decided he was no longer welcome.

Image source, Met Police

Matthew King has admitted to plotting a terror attack targeting the police and military, which the prosecution said was related to Islamist beliefs.

Authorities first became aware of King after his mother reported him to the government's anti-extremism agency, Prevent, because she feared some of the videos he was watching promoted hatred.

Prosecutors told the court he had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school, was expelled and left education at 16 with no qualifications.

King converted to Islam in 2020 and, at first, his behaviour improved, but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest and attended mosques wearing combat clothing, the court heard.

In 2022, in the weeks before his arrest, King began surveillance at railway stations, police stations, Stratford Magistrates' Court in east London and an Army barracks in East Ham.

On 17 May 2022, a CCTV camera captured him filming after dark outside a 7 Rifles Army barracks in east London.

He was arrested at his home the following day.

Dulcie Lee
Live reporter

Matthew King, a teenage Islamic State convert who has admitted plotting attacks on British police and soldiers, is to be sentenced for terrorism offences this morning.

King, from Wickford in Essex, pleaded guilty in January to the preparation of terrorist attacks.

The 19-year-old was put under surveillance after his mother raised concerns that videos he was watching promoted hatred.

The hearing is set to begin from 10:30, and our colleagues Tom Mackintosh and Daniel Sandford will be reporting from the Old Bailey court in central London.

The judge will hand down the sentence on camera - you’ll be able to watch it live by tapping Play at the top of the page.