An investigation into Islamic extremism has uncovered that a 13-year-old boy is suspected of sharing terrorist materials.

On Tuesday 17th May, a young boy was arrested at an address in west London on suspicion of disseminating terrorist materials after officers obtained a warrant.The 13-year-old was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police. He has now been given bail and will be released in mid-June.The teenager is one of the youngest alleged extremists to be charged with terrorism in the history of the UK.

A spokesperson for the Met has said that, "the investigation relates to the alleged sharing of extreme Islamist material online."Officers will work closely with partners from safeguarding agencies as the investigation continues."Commander Richard Smith, who is the head of the Counter Terrorism Command, commented that: "While it is still very rare for such a young person to be arrested for a terrorism offence, in recent times we have seen a worrying increase in the number of teenagers being drawn into terrorism."This particular investigation remains ongoing, but more broadly, we work closely with a whole range of partners to try and protect and divert young, vulnerable people away from extremism and terrorism.

"The public have an important part to play in this, and we would urge anyone who thinks a friend or relative is becoming radicalised or drawn into a path towards terrorism to 'ACT Early'. Please contact us so that we might be able to get that person the help they need."In February last year, another young boy who headed a neo-Nazi group was convicted of terrorism offences. He was sentenced to 24-months at a youth rehabilitation centre.

Police have become increasingly worried about the radicalisation of teenagers as the number of suspects has dramatically risen over the last year. In March 2020, 5% of suspects arrested for terrorism offences were under the age of 18. However, just a year on and 13% of terrorism suspects are made up of this young demographic.Authorities believe that the increasing amount of time that teenagers have spent online, due to the pandemic, has left more children vulnerable to being radicalised.