Trial date set for Essex teenager accused of terror plot
The 17 year-old boy is charged with six terrorism offences
An Essex teenager accused of a neo-Nazi-inspired terrorist plot involving printed firearms has been given a trial date in the summer due to his young age and the "gravity'' of the charges.
The 17 year-old boy was arrested on the morning of 29 December last year and charged with six terrorism offences.
It is alleged that he provided information for the manufacture, by 3D printer, of two firearms.
He is accused of transferring funds to another person for the purchase of materials to manufacture the printed firearms, and of drawing up plans for a storage bunker.
He is charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism, disseminating a terrorist publication and four counts of possessing material likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
On Friday, the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared before Mr Justice Sweeney at the Old Bailey by video link from Feltham Young Offenders Institution.
During the brief hearing, the defendant spoke to confirm his identity and date of birth.
The judge said that given the "gravity of the charges and the age of the defendant'' the Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft QC would try the case at the Old Bailey on 7 June this year with a plea hearing on 9 April.
The defendant, who will turn 18 before his trial, was remanded into custody.