A man found in possession of explosive items and extreme right-wing paraphernalia at a flat in Edinburgh has been jailed for 12-years.
Peter Morgan was arrested and has been remanded in custody since this time and yesterday at Edinburgh High Court yesterday he was found guilty of two offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 and one offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
Officers were conducting enquiries into the death of a teenage woman, who was found unconscious within a stairwell at a block of flats in Taylor Place in July 2017, when Morgan’s offences were discovered.
As part of officers’ enquiries into the full circumstances surrounding her death, entry was forced to the 35-year-old’s property.
During the search of the flat, officers became aware of extremist material and Police Scotland’s Organised Crime & Counter Terrorism Unit (OCCTU) were immediately called in to investigate, supported by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
A number of items, which could be used to construct an explosive device, were seized along with phones and computer equipment.
Following analysis of these, it was established that Morgan had been researching racist content and information on constructing explosives online.
Detective Inspector Jackie Gilfillan from OCCTU said: “The sentence handed to Morgan reflects the serious nature of his crimes and the commitment of both Police Scotland and the Crown Office to removing extremist threats.
“While Morgan had not created any viable devices within his home, the intent to construct an object that could cause serious harm and fear within our communities was clear.
“The national Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign recognises the important role the public have to play in preventing terrorism and, whenever such individuals come to our attention, a thorough investigation will be undertaken to bring them to justice.
“While on this occasion we were able to prevent any danger to the public, I’d encourage anyone with concerns about a person viewing extremist or terrorist material to report this to Police Scotland on 101 or to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
