Man appears at Beflast court on terrorist charges

Kevin Barry Concannon (40), from Beechwood Avenue, pleaded guilty to seven offences, including having photographs of Merseyside Police headquarters, Liverpool.

Appearing at another court earlier this year, he entered not guilty pleas to the charges, however, at the Crown Court barrister Kieran Mallon QC asked that his client be re-arraigned on seven of the nine charges Concannon initially faced.

When the charge of possessing an explosive substance, Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN), with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, on June 10, 2013, was put to him, Concannon said pleaded guilty to the second limb of the charge, enabling others to endanger life. He entered the same plea on a similar charge of possessing explosive substances, aluminium granules, magnesium ribbon and metal springs, with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.

Rearraigned on four further terrorist-related charges on the same date, he entered guilty pleas to possession of a firearm, namely a magazine, in suspicious circumstances; possession of explosives, namely blank cartridges, in suspicious circumstances; possession of information or documents likely to be of use in terrorism, namely the Anarchist’s Cookbook, and also possessing articles for use in terrorism.

The ‘articles’ in the latter charge were a de-activiated sub-machine gun, a set of number plates, smoke cannisters and a thunder flash. He also admitted collecting or making records of information (images of Merseyside Police HQ) likely to be of use in terrorism between October 25 and 28, 2012.

After guilty pleas were entered prosecuting barrister Kieran Murphy QC said the Crown accepted the pleas and asked that two further charges be left on the court books.

Concannon is due to be sentenced for the offences in September.