The United Kingdom has once again crossed the boundaries of what is considered a functional democracy. In recent days, media reports have emerged claiming that Shahid Butt, a convicted terrorist jailed for his role in an armed Islamist plot, is now seeking election to Birmingham City Council in May.
According to GB News, Butt, 60, was sentenced to five years in prison in 1999 after being found guilty of planning terrorist attacks against the British consulate, an Anglican church, and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen. Prosecutors said the terrorist cell had been dispatched by Abu Hamza, the notorious Islamist preacher later jailed in the United States, whose son was among those convicted in the same case.
Despite the conviction, Butt is now standing for election in the Sparkhill ward as a candidate for the Independent Candidates Alliance, an activist-led grouping expected to field around 20 candidates across Birmingham in the 7 May local elections. Sparkhill has a large Pakistani-heritage population, accounting for nearly two-thirds of local residents.
The Alliance was founded by campaigners Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar and is targeting seats Labour officials believe may be vulnerable amid anger among some Muslim voters over the party’s stance on Israel.
Butt’s candidacy has prompted immediate criticism online, with opponents accusing him of glorifying violence and promoting Islamist ideology. He has previously urged young Muslims to ‘work out at the gym and learn to fight’, remarks critics say amount to encouragement of political violence.
‘Muslims are not pacifists…if somebody comes into your face, you knock his teeth out. That’s my message to the youth’
Ahead of Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv last November, Butt called on Muslims nationwide to travel to Birmingham, claiming ‘IDF babykillers’ would be present and warning that Israeli fans would ‘desecrate’ the city. Footage from protests surrounding the match 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 his terrorism conviction, claiming his confession was obtained under torture and that evidence against him was fabricated. However, he has acknowledged a violent past, which he attributes to racism he experienced while growing up in Birmingham.
Prior to his conviction in Yemen, Butt had already served prison 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 during the 1980s.
He argues that this background gives him credibility within the community. ‘I don’t have a degree from a university, but I do have a PhD in life,’ he said.
Speaking on the Patrick Christys Tonight show on GB News, Reform UK councillor Russel Quirk said Shahid Butt should not be allowed to stand for election because of his previous terrorism conviction. ‘It should disqualify you from standing for election,’ he said.
According to Butt, part of his motivation for running for council is to ‘push back against the far right’, while presenting himself as someone who can ‘unite the community’ and challenge both ‘far-right groups’ and Labour’s dominance in Sparkhill.
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