Mosque attack suspect tells court of visiting far-right websites

A man accused of terror offences has told a court he visited far-right websites.

Sam Imrie, 24, is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh for allegedly posting statements on the Telegram social media platform suggesting he was going to carry out an attack on the Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes.

He is also accused of planning to stream live footage of “an incident” and of possessing neo-Nazi, antisemitic and anti-Muslim material and child abuse images.

Imrie, who denies the nine charges against him – three of which come under the Terrorism Act – gave evidence on Monday.

The court heard that he played violent video games such as Call Of Duty before accessing the extremist website 8Chan.

“On the boards I was going on, it was extremist, far right,” said Imrie.

He was questioned for nearly two hours by defence counsel Jim Keegan QC.

Mr Keegan said Imrie hid his browsing by signing into virtual private networks (VPNs) which hide a user’s internet protocol address.

Imrie told the court about setting a fire in a derelict building after finding the Islamic centre was closed.

He said he did not associate with many people of a different ethnic origin but his “mindset” had changed while on remand in prison after meeting black and Asian people.

Mr Keegan also questioned Imrie about downloading violent porn from 8Chan involving dead women.

The trial continues before Lord Mulholland.