Kevin O'Sullivan is joined by social policy analyst Rakib Ehsan to discuss the news that Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of directing a terrorist organisation and encouraging support for it through online meetings.

Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Choudary was convicted on Tuesday of taking a “caretaker role” in directing Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).

He stood motionless in the dock with his arms crossed as the jury’s verdict was delivered.

Prosecutors said Choudary directed the terrorist organisation for a significant period of time from 2014 onwards and also encouraged support for the group by addressing online meetings of the Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS).

The 57-year-old, of Ilford, east London, gave lectures to the New York-based ITS, which prosecutors said was “the same” as ALM.

ITS was infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers in the US, who were present at online lectures in 2022 and 2023, held over the Element messenger platform.

ALM was proscribed as a terror organisation in the UK in 2010, though it was said in court that the group has continued to exist under various names.

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