A British teenager whose far-right extremist videos influenced the gunman in an American mass shooting has been sentenced to 11 and a half years in jail.
Daniel Harris, 19, posted videos that were shared by Payton Gendron, who carried out a racially motivated supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, and linked to Anderson Lee Aldrich, the only suspect in a shooting at a gay bar in Colorado.
Judge Patrick Field called Harris, 19, “highly dangerous” and a “propagandist for an extremist right-wing ideology”.
“You were in close touch with other right-wing extremists online and there can be little doubt that you shared ideas between you,” Mr Field told Harris during sentencing at Manchester Crown Court.
He said he had “no hesitation” in coming to the conclusion that Harris was “highly dangerous” and passed an extended sentence, with a licence period of three years on top of the custodial sentence.
Harris was found guilty in December of five counts of encouraging terrorism and one count of possession of material for terrorist purposes for trying to make a gun with a 3D printer.
The court heard that the teenager from Derbyshire posted videos online for more than a year, starting at the age of 17.
He reportedly posted under the name BookAnon on a platform called World Truth Videos.
Mr Field told Harris: “At the very least, the material you produced and published has had some influence upon the young man [Gendron].”
Gendron was 18 when he shot his victims in a supermarket in New York in May 2022.
The judge said Harris had previous convictions including the racially aggravated criminal damage of a memorial to George Floyd in Manchester.
He was engaged with a deradicalisation programme, but told the operative his behaviour was a “blip” and denied having any interest in politics.
At the time he made those claims, the court heard, he was creating a video homage to Thomas Mair, who murdered MP Jo Cox.
The judge said he demonstrated “a level of deceit and cunning”.
Counter-Terrorism Policing detective inspector Chris Brett said he continued to post extremist material while being monitored by authorities.
“Harris was ultimately deemed not to have been groomed — rather his provocative words and inflammatory films were potentially radicalising others,” Mr Brett said.
He warned other extremists that police would find them even if they “hide behind usernames, avatars and other technical blockers”.
UK intelligence agencies, police and MPs have stepped up warnings about right-wing extremism.
Domestic security agents have been investigating teenagers as young as 13 with suspected white supremacist beliefs, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said last year.
Of 29 “late-stage” attack plots disrupted in the four preceding years, 10 were planned by extreme right-wingers, he said.
The House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee said in a December report that the online threat was driven by “predominantly young men, many of them still in their teens”.
Few belong to organised groups and so are difficult to identify and monitor, the report said, and experts warn that online radicalisation only worsened during pandemic lockdowns.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
