Content note: This article contains detailed discussion of terrorism and anti-semitism, and mentions of homophobia and violent intentions.

Cambridge mathematics graduate Oliver Bel has today (21/05) been jailed over his possession of the so-called “Anarchist Cookbook.”

Bel will spend two years in jail after being sentenced at Manchester Crown Court, after being convicted of a terror offence last month (22/04). His conviction meant that he could have faced a maximum sentence of up to 15 years.

He was originally put on trial on two charges: the first in relation to possession of the “Cookbook”, or bomb-making manual, and the second in relation to violent antisemetic comments made online, stating in 2017, that he believed extermination was the “best option” for Jewish people.

During the trial, Prosecutor John Allman said that the “Anarchist Cookbook” contained instructions on how to make two “highly explosive” substances.

The evidence presented in the trial included images of the Nazi swastika and conversations with others about racial superiority that had been found on Bel’s mobile phone by Police.

The court also heard reports of Bel’s extreme right-wing views, including references in social medial posts to Jews as “parasites” and descriptions of homosexuality as “perverse and unnatural,” although Bel was not convicted as a direct result of these comments.

Bel’s comments on social media were found by one of his tutors at Cambridge, who brought them to the attention of Cambridge’s Anti-Terrorism Unit.

Judge Alan Conrad QC, while sentencing him, stated that the evidence “showed [Bel’s] extreme right-wing mindset,” and referred to him as an “arrogant young man” who was “blessed with high intelligence [but] whose heart is filled with so much hatred”.

Speaking after sentencing, a spokesperson for Hope Not Hate, an organisation founded to “provide a positive antidote to the politics of hate”, Matthew Collins said that “his sentencing today is welcome, but should also be a reminder of the continued growth in the threat of far-right terror.”

Bel was indicted under Section 58 of the 2000 Terrorism Act, which covers the possession of information which “may be useful [in] preparing an act of terrorism.”

During the trial in April, the court heard reports of Bel’s extreme right-wing views, including references in social medial posts to Jews as “parasites” and descriptions of homosexuality as “perverse and unnatural,” although Bel was not convicted as a direct result of these comments.