Teenager, UK's youngest terror offender, has been sentenced today

The unnamed 16-year-old, who is described as having "significant vulnerabilities" brought on from his childhood, has been given a two-year youth rehabilitation order at the Old Bailey.

In July 2019, he was arrested after collecting offensive online material expressing far-right, racist, anti-Jewish and homophobic views.

The defendant claimed to not personally hold these extreme views, but instead wanted to "appear cool".

The teenager admitted to 12 offences which include downloading a manual for bomb-making when he was 13.

It is thought that the reason that a harsher custodial sentence was not used was because of the "irreversible harm" that it would do for the defendant since his arrest and his current and future rehabilitation.

The trial of the teenager has highlighted the lengthy damage and influence of online radicalisation, a serious factor that faces young people who are spending more and more hours independently online.