𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A man convicted of terrorism offences has defended his decision to stand for election in Birmingham in May. Shahid Butt, who is a candidate to become a councillor in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham, defended his history of violence, claiming he was tortured into signing a confession to a terrorism offence.

Butt served five years in jail in Yemen after being found guilty in 1999 of being a member of an armed gang and conspiring to bomb the British consulate. He said: “My actual charge was being a member of an armed gang and conspiring to commit violence, not terrorism as such. The whole thing was about conspiring…nobody actually died, nothing happened at all.”

He told BirminghamLive the gang were tortured and forced into signing confessions, claiming that “it was all just made up…the weapons were all planted”. 

Despite this, Butt does recognise his past links to violence. 

Butt helped to found a mostly Pakistani street gang in Sparkhill, which took on far-right anti-immigrant groups in the 1970s and 80s, fighting with skinheads and Nazis.

His associates then included Moazzam Begg, later held in Guantanamo Bay by the Americans for three years, accused of being a terrorist before being released without charge.

Butt was among the radicals who ventured to Bosnia and then to Afghanistan to fight against allied forces before his capture in Yemen, describing his past self as ‘frustrated and angry’.

He added: “Look, like many people you look back and think at the time you were doing the right thing. You have a lot of zeal and I came from the streets, I am not an educated person, as a kid all I heard was ‘f*** off back to where you came from’ and ‘P***’ and I got angry and bitter and the only way I could deal with it was by lashing out.

“I was not able to communicate or deal with this differently. I’m a big guy, I’ve done martial arts, street fighting, and so I found that very easy. I did not develop intellectually until later. I was idealistic.

“I made a lot of mistakes, there is a lot I regret of my past. But now it is done and I have to live with it, and that’s why I got involved in stopping young men (making the) mistakes I did.”

Despite this, his decision to stand for election has caused outrage across the political spectrum.

Sureena Brackenridge, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, said: “I am stunned that someone who was found to be a terrorist, who planned to blow up a British consulate, is now putting himself in a position to represent the people of Sparkhill.”

Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Yardley in Birmingham, told ITV News: “The idea that people who have been convicted of terror offences underplaying that as having had a colourful past and standing to represent part of my family in that area, I find that absolutely appalling.”

Sharon Osbourne, wife of Birmingham legend Ozzy, has taken to social media to suggest she might move back to the area to stand against Butt.

She said: “This has nothing to do with racism. I think I’m gonna move to Birmingham and put my name down for the ballot to be on the council. I’m serious.”