A Muslim activist convicted for his role in an armed terrorist plot is seeking election to Birmingham City Council in May.
Shahid Butt, 60, was jailed for five years in 1999 after being found guilty of planned attacks on the British consulate, an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen.
Prosecutors said the cell had been dispatched by Abu Hamza, the notorious hate preacher whose son was among those convicted.
Now, Butt is standing in the Sparkhill ward for the Independent Candidates Alliance, an activist-led grouping expected to field around 20 candidates across Birmingham on May 7.
Sparkhill has a large Pakistani-heritage population, accounting for almost two-thirds of local residents.
The Alliance was founded by campaigners Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar and is targeting seats Labour fears could be vulnerable amid anger among Muslim voters over the party’s stance on Israel.
Butt’s candidacy has prompted immediate backlash online, with critics accusing him of promoting violence and pushing an Islamist agenda.
He has previously urged young Muslims to “work out at the gym and learn to fight” in preparation for potential attacks.
Shahid Butt was jailed for five years in 1999 after being found guilty of plotting attacks on the British consulate
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Ahead of Aston Villa’s match against Maccabi Tel Aviv last November, Butt called on Muslims from across the country to descend on Birmingham, claiming “IDF babykillers” would be present and warning against Israeli fans “desecrating” the city.
Footage from protests at the fixture shows him telling crowds: “Muslims are not pacifists… if somebody comes into your face, you knock his teeth out. That’s my message to the youth.”
Butt continues to deny the terror conviction, claiming his confession was extracted under torture and that evidence was fabricated.
He has admitted to a violent past, which he claims was shaped by racism he experienced growing up in Birmingham.
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Butt is standing in the Sparkhill ward for the Independent Candidates Alliance
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“I am not an educated person,” he told the Birmingham Mail.
“As a kid all I heard was ‘f*** off back to where you came from’ and ‘P***’ and I got angry and bitter.”
Before his conviction in Yemen, Butt had served time in Birmingham for violent offences and was linked to the Lynx gang, a predominantly Pakistani street gang involved in clashes with skinheads and the National Front in the 1980s.
He argues that his background gives him credibility in the community, saying: “I don’t have a degree from a university, but I do have a PhD in life.”
The Alliance was founded by campaigners Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar
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Butt has rejected accusations of antisemitism, insisting: “As a Muslim I cannot be antisemitic – Jews are my cousins.”
He added he was willing to “break bread” with Jewish people but stressed he has “no love” for Zionism.
He has also voiced support for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s efforts to stop Channel crossings.
The 60-year-old said: “I also don’t want any Tom, Dick or Harry coming over and living in our communities when we don’t know who they are.
“That is not being racist, that is being a good British citizen.”