Cheshire man jailed for terrorism offences

A Cheshire man has been jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to terrorism offences following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW).

Mason Yates, 19, of Elstree Court, Widnes, was first arrested in January 2021 following a warrant at his home address where a number of media devices and items showing extreme Right-Wing ideology were seized by officers.

His mobile phone was examined and a large number of Extreme Right-Wing images were recovered, alongside concerning electronic documents. Yates was subsequently charged with two counts of collecting or making a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Yates had also previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image, contrary to section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2003. This image had been recovered from a mobile device seized during a search by officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Clare Devlin, from CTPNW, said: “This was a thorough and comprehensive investigation which has resulted in Yates facing imprisonment for 30 months.

"Today's sentencing reaffirms our commitment to making sure those who pose a risk to our society will be pursued and prosecuted. Extremists using this kind of ideology can create fear and distrust among our communities and CTPNW is committed to finding those responsible and bringing them to justice.

“Reports of this nature are always taken seriously and we would encourage anyone with any concerns around people expressing extremist views to call the UK Anti-Terrorism Hotline in confidence on 0800 789 321, or alternatively, use the secure online form at Gov.uk/ACT.”

Every year, thousands of reports from the public help police tackle the terrorist threat. If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right, trust your instinct and ACT. Reporting won’t ruin lives, but it could save them. Action Counters Terrorism. In an emergency, always dial 999.