Convicted Terrorist Seeks Public Office in UK, Sparks Controversy

A 60-year-old convicted terrorist who is now seeking public office in UK ‘s Birmingham has sparked controversy across Britain’s political and public spheres. According to multiple reports, the man, identified as Shahid Butt, was tried and convicted by a court in Yemen for his role in an armed terror plot that included planning bomb attacks on the British consulate in Aden, an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel in 1999. Butt, who has announced his candidacy for Birmingham City Council’s Sparkhill ward, had received a five-year prison sentence for conspiracy and related offenses, BBC reported. Butt was 33 at the time of the crime. The plot, carried out by an armed cell that prosecutors at the time said was linked to extremist networks, involved detailed planning and explicit intent to target Western and religious sites in Yemen. Butt served his sentence before returning to the UK in the early 2000s, according to Yahoo News UK. He has consistently denied the conviction and maintained that his confession was coerced under torture and that the evidence against him was fabricated. He also claimed that he has since redirected his efforts toward preventing radicalisation among young people, including involvement with initiatives linked to the UK government. Most recently, he defended his candidacy in the upcoming local elections in Birmingham, saying that while he understands people’s concerns, there’s little he can do to alter public opinion. “If they think I’m an extremist then I can’t change that opinion – at the end of the day it comes down to the people of Sparkhill,” he said. Despite his conviction, UK election law does not bar Butt from standing for local office because his sentence was served more than five years ago and was imposed overseas, meaning he is legally eligible to run. Butt’s candidacy has been welcomed by a small activist group, the Independent Candidates Alliance, which is campaigning on community representation in Sparkhill, an area with a large British-Pakistani and Muslim population, according to News Minimalist. Reacting to his announcement, American television personality Sharon Osbourne suggested on social media she might stand in the Birmingham elections too. The leader of the city’s Conservatives, Robert Alden, also invited her to join them to “help keep extremists out of Birmingham City Council”. Local elections in Birmingham are scheduled to be held on May 7.