Two 15-year-old boys arrested in Ramsgate for 'planning far-right terror attack' released without charge

Police free teenagers after almost six days in custody

Two 15-year-old boys who were arrested in Kent on suspicion of planning a far-right terror attack have been released without charge.

The teenagers were detained at their homes in the seaside town of Ramsgate by counterterror detectives in dawn raids on 20 September.

Magistrates granted police extra time to questioned the pair in custody, but they were freed on Tuesday evening.

The boys had been arrested on suspicion of “preparing for terrorist acts”, and The Independent understands police initially feared they were planning an attack inspired by right-wing extremist ideology.

Detective Superintendent Nigel Doak, of Counter Terror Policing South East, said at the time that the arrests were "pre-planned and intelligence-led".

“We are committed to tackling any and all ideologies which pose a threat to the public’s safety and security," he added. "We treat the threat from the extreme right in exactly the same way as any other threat.”

The arrests came days after new government figures showed the number of white suspected terrorists being arrested in the UK has overtaken those of Asian appearance for the first time in more than a decade.

The boys were arrested at their homes in the seaside town of Ramsgate (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Statistics released by the Home Office show an overall fall in terror arrests of 22 per cent in the year, with 351 made in the 12 months to the end of June.

White suspects accounted for 38 per cent of terror-related arrests, followed by those of Asian appearance on 37 per cent and black suspects on 9 per cent.

The demographics of terrorists in prison, where Islamists make up the majority, is also changing, as the number of far-right extremists jailed rises.

Islamists make up 82 per cent of terrorist prisoners, followed by 13 per cent far-right and the rest made up of other ideologies including links to Northern Ireland.

Several teenagers have been imprisoned for terror offences and massacre plots in recent years.

Last month, Britain’s youngest female terror plotter was jailed for life for planning an Isis-inspired knife attack in London when she was just 16.

Safaa Boular passed the mission to her sister after being detained for trying to join the terrorist group – and her foreign fighter boyfriend – in Syria.

Two other 15-year-old boys were jailed in July for planning a Columbine-style massacre at their school in Yorkshire.

Police uncovered a diary where lead plotter Thomas Wyllie, who was 14 at the time, espoused “far-right wing ideology” as he planned to get hold of guns and explosives.

In March, a 17-year-old autistic boy was jailed for life for planning a terror attack in Cardiff.

The court heard that Lloyd Gunton had been heavily influenced by Isis propaganda and planned to steal a vehicle and drive it into “non-believers” before stabbing them.

Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan was 18 when he tried to bomb a London Tube train last September, and was caught trying to flee the country.

Experts said his device could have killed every passenger in the carriage but did not detonate properly

Hassan told immigration officials he had been “trained to kill” as a child soldier at an Isis camp in his home country and was caught watching the terrorist group’s propaganda.

Since the Westminster attack in March 2017, security services have foiled 13 Islamist plots and four from the extreme right-wing.

Counterterror police are urging members of the public to report suspicious behaviour to police by visiting www.gov.uk/ACT or calling 0800 789 321 confidentially.