An alleged terrorism conspirator who claimed to be mates with another teenager accused of stabbing a bishop during a live-streamed sermon will spend at least one more night in custody before learning whether he is granted bail. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named, was already in custody when he was charged on Friday with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.
Dib told the court the boy put on a macho performance in messages about performing an attack and was not the monster prosecutors sought to paint him as. The boy had been in possession of a kitchen knife when he threw a wooden plank at a bottle shop employee, but did not pull out the knife, before the group left, he said. “He could have acted as a monster, he did not,” Dib said. “He does not pull that knife out at any point, on footage captured by CCTV.