Alfie Coleman, 22, was jailed for 13 and a half years with a further five years on extended licence at the Old Bailey after a retrial found him guilty of preparing terrorist acts. MI5 undercover officers engaged Coleman in encrypted chat and snared him on September 29, 2023, in a Stratford Morrisons car park as he collected a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition; jurors saw video of him handing over £3,500 from a Land Rover and picking up a holdall before armed counter-terrorism police arrested him. The court heard Coleman had been radicalised online from about age 14, compiled a hate list of colleagues and customers from his time working part time at Tesco, and wrote a diary “manifesto” naming potential targets including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque. Police searching his family home in Great Notley, Essex, found a Black Sun flag, a rock bearing a swastika, extreme right-wing books, a device to detect bugs and secret cameras, and about £2,500 in savings; the trial also accepted he possessed documents useful to terrorists. Judge Richard Marks KC described Coleman’s views as "virulently racist" and ordered he be treated as a dangerous offender; Coleman appeared tearful in court and had told the court he suffered loneliness and mental-health problems during the Covid lockdowns. Coleman had admitted attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing an attack; he was convicted in April and sentenced on Wednesday.
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