Ex-UK army chef jailed for ‘terror’-related offence

What the report says

A British court has sentenced former army chef Mark Broadhurst, 28, to nearly four years in prison after ruling that his weapons offences were linked to terrorism. According to Al Jazeera’s report, the case was heard at Sheffield Crown Court in England on Wednesday, after police arrested Broadhurst in September 2024 and found weapons and materials at his home.

The article says investigators discovered knives, crossbows, black powder, ammunition, air pistols and an improvised homemade cannon. Prosecutors also relied on online messages in which Broadhurst allegedly expressed racist views and discussed selling homemade firearms to far-right groups. He pleaded guilty to firearm possession and to possessing an explosive under suspicious circumstances, but denied that the items were intended for terrorism. The judge nevertheless found the offences connected to terrorist purposes.

Al Jazeera, citing police and prosecutors, reported that Broadhurst was viewed as holding extreme right-wing views and was seeking components to make explosives. The report also said he had been linked to an online chat group involving three other men later jailed for planning an attack on mosques or synagogues. The case has been presented against a wider backdrop of rising hate crimes and racial tensions in the UK, making it part of a broader concern about far-right violence and extremist networks.