Rainhill man jailed for terror offences
Scott Mason has been sentenced to three years in prison
Last updated 8th Jul 2022
A man from Rainhill has been jailed for a number of offences, including possessing a document containing information of use for preparing acts of terrorism.
Scott Mason was sentenced to a total of three years in jail at Manchester Crown Square yesterday (7th July).
HHJ Conrad commented that the offences would have attracted a sentence of 4 and a half years, were it not for the defendants early guilty plea.
The 36-year-old first came to police attention following a report of a domestic assault leading to his arrest by Cheshire Constabulary in October 2021.
During the initial enquiries, concerns were raised surrounding Mason's extreme right wing, racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic views, leading to Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) being informed to investigate.
Police examination of Mason’s mobile phone identified a document containing step by step instructions for producing home explosives and well as extreme pornographic images.
The phone records also revealed messages showing that he had attempted to intimidate witnesses of the original domestic assault.
On 15th October 2021, officers from CTPNW and Merseyside Police executed a search warrant at Mason’s home address in Rainhill, Merseyside and he was further arrested under the Terrorism Act. During a search of the home address a “Push-Dagger”, a prohibited weapon, was located and seized by police.
Mason was later charged with the following offences:
- Possession of information of a kind likely to be useful to a Terrorist contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000
- Possession of Extreme Pornography
- Perverting the Course of Justice (Witness Intimidation)
- Possession of an Offensive Weapon
Mason entered a guilty plea to the Terrorism offence in November 2021 and in January 2022 he further pleaded guilty to the weapons offence for which he received a sentence of 3 months imprisonment at the Magistrates Court.
The matter was then listed for trial on the outstanding matters, however on 13th April, Mason pleaded guilty to the outstanding charges and was remanded in custody for sentence.
Detective Superintendent William Chatterton, of CTPNW, said: "This was a thorough and comprehensive investigation which has resulted in Mason facing a significant prison sentence.
"Today's sentencing reaffirms our commitment to making sure those who pose a risk to our society will be pursued and prosecuted.
“Counter Terrorism Policing North West would like to reassure communities that incidents of this nature are always taken seriously and to report any concerns of people expressing extremist views by calling 0800 789 321 in confidence or using the secure online form at Gov.uk/ACT
"We would like to thank all involved in this investigation, in particular our colleagues from Cheshire Constabulary and Merseyside Police for their invaluable support."