Convicted Terrorist Who Plotted To Bomb British Consulate Now Standing For Election In UK

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Shahid Butt, a 60-year-old Muslim activist with a conviction for conspiring to bomb the British consulate in Yemen, is now gunning for a seat on Birmingham City Council. 

Yes, really.

Convicted in 1999 and sentenced to five years in a Yemeni prison, Butt was found guilty of forming an armed gang to target the consulate, an Anglican church, and a Swiss-owned hotel.

‘Can you see what’s happening to our country!’@PatrickChristys reacts to Shahid Butt, an activist running for election in Birmingham, who’s been convicted of terrorism.

Go to https://t.co/CVTl2Q2qvb to get 75% off ExpressVPN. #ad

ExpressVPN terms and conditions apply. pic.twitter.com/PZYRo0lqRz

— GB News (@GBNEWS) January 28, 2026

Butt claims the charges were bogus, insisting he was forced to confess and that they weren’t terrorism-related. Yet reports link him to an armed Islamist jihadi group that kidnapped 16 Westerners in 1998. In the early 1990s, he headed to Bosnia as an “aid worker” before joining a foreign fighters brigade in the Bosnian army. Back in Birmingham during the 1980s, he racked up trouble with a notorious gang and even served prison time for violence.

Now, as a pro-Gaza independent candidate in the Sparkhill ward—where around 80% of residents are Muslim—Butt is openly urging the city’s Muslim youth to “work out at the gym and learn to fight” in preparation for potential attacks. He calls for Muslims to “stand together and hold their ground” against “disbelievers” of other faiths.

‘It should disqualify you from standing for election.’

Reform UK Councillor Russell Quirk believes that Shahid Butt should not be allowed to stand in the Birmingham council elections due to his previous terrorism conviction. pic.twitter.com/P6ClldcqCQ

— GB News (@GBNEWS) January 28, 2026

Victims of Islamist attacks aren’t buying the redemption story. Groups representing terror survivors slammed the candidacy as making “a mockery of our political system,” according to The Telegraph. 

One source told the paper: “Allowing someone with this history to run for office undermines everything we stand for in fighting extremism.”

Convicted terrorist Shahid Butt is standing for election in the UK

He’s a convicted terrorist and hates non-muslims

“Don’t take Christians and Jews as your friends; non-believers cannot be trusted. Stick with the Muslims.”

Welcome to the UK ???? pic.twitter.com/DQzk6FS2PE

— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 30, 2026

GB News host Patrick Christys tore into the development, asking: “Are you mental?!” in a blistering monologue. He highlighted Butt’s past, from the Yemen plots to his calls for Muslims to arm up against non-believers.

‘Under UK law, there is no disqualification for an individual who holds any kind of past terrorism-related conviction.’

Emma Schubart explains how convicted terrorist Shahid Butt can legally stand for election in England. pic.twitter.com/FfoIK6FYrv

— GB News (@GBNEWS) January 29, 2026

This isn’t an isolated case of the UK rolling out the red carpet for radicals. Just last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally celebrated the release and return of British-Egyptian extremist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who has a track record of praising Osama bin Laden, denying the Holocaust, and calling for violence against Jews and police. Starmer called it a “top priority” for his government.

Meanwhile, ordinary Brits face the full force of the law for far less. Take Lucy Connolly, who served time for a heated tweet about immigration after the Southport attacks and now faces re-imprisonment for sharing a satirical joke about Starmer. 

The contrast couldn’t be starker: extremists with bomb plots and hate-filled rhetoric get platforms and welcomes, while native Brits get jail cells for memes and jokes. 

Birmingham’s council elections in May could mark another win for sectarian politics, fueled by unchecked migration and a government more interested in appeasing radicals than protecting its own citizens.

As communal tensions rise, with anti-Israel protests turning violent and Jewish groups raising alarms, allowing figures like Butt to run exposes the rot in Britain’s system.

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