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| British teacher pleads guilty over plan to fight for Isis in Syria | British teacher pleads guilty over plan to fight for Isis in Syria |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| A chemistry teacher accused of supporting Islamic State (Isis) is facing jail after he admitted terrorism charges. | |
| Jamshed Javeed, 30, from Levenshulme, Manchester, accepts that he intended to travel to Syria to join rebels fighting against the Assad regime. But he insists he is not an extremist and “has never supported and does not support the aims of Isis as now revealed and understood”. | |
| Police claim the previously “law-abiding” married father-of-two “started to support the Isis cause” from August last year. | |
| At Woolwich crown court Javeed, who taught at Sharples high school in Bolton, admitted two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. | |
| The first charge states that he intended to help others to commit acts of terrorism by providing funding and purchasing equipment between 1 July 2013 and 12 March this year. | |
| The second count alleges that he made travel plans, obtained a passport and purchased equipment with the intention of committing acts of terrorism between the same dates. | |
| Javeed, born in Manchester, is said to have become rapidly radicalised from living an ordinary western lifestyle with a stable family background to someone who was determined to travel to Syria and fight for Isis. | |
| There is no evidence to link his teaching job with his terrorist activities. He was arrested last December by counter-terrorism officers amid fears he was planning to fly out imminently to Syria via Turkey with equipment he had bought for use on the battlefields. | |
| His family pleaded with him not to travel to Syria but Javeed told them he wanted to go regardless of their wishes. | |
| Det Ch Supt Tony Mole, head of the north-west counter-terrorism unit, said: “The evidence indicates he has got together with a group who have been very determined to go out to Syria and fight despite the efforts of his family who were against him going out there. | |
| “So, friends and family have been very clear and have attempted to stop him travelling to Syria but he was still determined to go. | |
| “I think anybody that either goes out to Isis or is trying to get out to Isis at this stage is putting themselves and their family and their communities in a very vulnerable position. It is a life changing decision. | |
| “No matter whether you are from a vulnerable background or a stable background, there is a sector of society that is very vulnerable to this rhetoric. You only have to watch the news to see what this group is about. Would you recommend anyone to go out there and fight with them? | |
| “Anyone who goes out to fight with Isis could potentially be a serious danger to communities if they return. By the time you have been trained, had experience, built up future friendships and fully engaged with that terrorist rhetoric, you potentially become a dangerous individual, so we take a robust approach to people that wish to engage with terrorist organisations.” |