Stoke imam guilty of supporting Islamic State group

A British imam who preached support for the so-called Islamic State (IS) has been found guilty of terror offences.

Kamran Hussain, 40, gave radical sermons to around 40 worshippers at a charity-funded mosque in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent.

The Old Bailey heard he told children that martyrdom was better than anything they could achieve at school.

Hussain, from Tunstall, was convicted of two counts of supporting IS and six of encouraging terrorism.

The dates of the offences were between June and September last year.

During the trial jurors heard Hussain was arrested after an undercover officer secretly recorded a series of Friday lunchtime sermons over the four months.

See more stories from across Staffordshire and Cheshire here

A total of 17 sermons were attended, 10 of which "strayed beyond the mainstream moderate Islamic thought", prosecutor Mrs Sarah Whitehouse QC said.

They included one on 2 September 2016 where Hussain talked about martyrdom to a congregation of nine children and 35 adults.

He told those present that martyrs had nothing to fear when "you go in front of Allah with the bullet wounds and the sword wounds and you are raised in that situation with the blood still coming from your body".

Jurors also heard the imam had preached that far right group Britain First was a "government-backed project".

Following his arrest, Hussain said the ability to discuss "difficult concepts in a challenging world" was an essential part of religion and claimed he was exercising his right to freedom of speech.

He will be sentenced on 28 September.