Aine Davis: Man linked to Islamic State ‘Beatles’ cell pleads guilty to terror offences

Breaking Sky News

A man once suspected of being a member of the so-called Beatles Islamic State cell has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences. Aine Davis, 39, originally from Hammersmith, west London, was arrested at Luton Airport last August after being deported from Turkey, where he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for membership of IS.

He previously denied charges against him but changed his pleas at a hearing at the Old Bailey today after a failed bid to get the case thrown out. Davis admitted possession of a firearm contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two charges relating to the funding of terrorism, between 2013 and 2014.

He appeared by videolink from Belmarsh prison wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit and was remanded in custody by the judge Mark Lucraft KC ahead of sentencing at the same court on 13 November.

Davis was arrested in Istanbul in November 2015 and has always denied being part of the Beatles cell – named because of the British accents of the group of men who tortured and beheaded western hostages in Syria. Two members, British nationals El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, are now serving life sentences in US jails. A third, Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed Jihadi John, who was believed to feature in shocking videos of IS beheadings of a number of captives, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.

Ahead of his planned Old Bailey trial, Davis’ lawyers argued the case should be thrown out because he had already been tried and convicted for the same offending. Prosecutors disputed the defence claims which were rejected by Judge Mark Lucraft and later by the Court of Appeal.