Alfie Coleman Convicted After MI5 Sting Lured Him to Buy Makarov Pistol in Stratford

Alfie Coleman, a 21-year-old neo-Nazi from Great Notley in Essex, was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism following an Old Bailey retrial, and was remanded in custody awaiting sentencing on 8 July.

“- Published A neo-Nazi has been found guilty of preparing terrorist acts after compiling a list of "race traitors" and trying to buy a gun”

BBC

Searchlight Magazine said Coleman’s first trial at the Old Bailey ended without a verdict, before a retrial led to a guilty finding on 30 April 2026.

BBC

The Independent and BBC both described Coleman as being snared by MI5 in an undercover operation that culminated in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, on 29 September 2023.

The BBC said MI5 officers lured Coleman into buying a Makarov pistol and ammunition in September 2023, and arrested him immediately after he picked up the weapon from a Land Rover in a car park in east London.

Sky News and The Independent both said jurors saw Coleman drop £3,500 in a Land Rover Discovery and retrieve a holdall containing the handgun and ammunition from the boot.

Prosecutors and police described Coleman as compiling a list of “race traitors” and identifying potential targets including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque, with the BBC saying he was convicted after he tried to buy a gun.

In the dock, Coleman claimed he had “fallen for a trap,” and the jury disagreed, according to Searchlight Magazine.

The prosecution narrative, as laid out across outlets, traced Coleman’s radicalisation and weapon-seeking to the Covid lockdown period and then to a sequence of arrangements culminating in the Stratford handover.

Searchlight Magazine said Coleman spent the Covid lockdowns immersing himself in extreme right-wing material from the age of 14, graduating from downloading neo-Nazi texts to actively seeking weapons.

GB News

The Independent and LBC both said authorities first became concerned in the summer of 2023 when Coleman became increasingly active on online extreme right wing groups, and that in early September 2023 he arranged to buy a Skorpion automatic weapon, an AK47 rifle and bullets in France before quickly abandoning the plan.

BBC and Sky News described the final sting as reaching its conclusion on 29 September 2023, when Coleman, then 19, was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police before he had gone 30 yards.

Multiple outlets said the undercover officers had set up a handover in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, with the items in a Land Rover Discovery and a holdall retrieved from the boot.

The BBC said jurors saw dramatic video of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover and picking up a holdall containing the gun, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition from the boot.

Evidence described in the court included a “manifesto” and documents found on his devices, with the BBC saying he had a copy of a “manifesto” written by Dylann Roof and that Roof had written this “overtly racist” document before mounting a murderous attack in South Carolina in 2015.

Across the reporting, Coleman’s alleged intent was tied to a mix of online material, diaries, and a list of people he branded “race traitors,” with prosecutors and police describing a progression from talk to action.

“A young neo-Nazi has been found guilty of planning a mass gun attack after being snared by MI5 in an undercover sting”

Glasgow Times

The BBC said Coleman was a far-right “militant accelerationist” who believed in fighting a race war, and that prosecutors described how Coleman, then a teenager, had spent the Covid lockdowns immersing himself "in an extreme right-wing world while looking to arm himself with weapons openly advertised on the internet, such as knives".

The Independent and Sky News both said Coleman compiled a hate list of colleagues and customers, and the BBC said he identified potential targets including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque.

Searchlight Magazine said his electronic devices contained a manifesto modelled on Dylann Roof and a list of targets including the Lord Mayor of London, a mosque and work colleagues branded “race traitors,” while also noting he had written: “Something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet.”

The Independent and BBC both said that two days before the handover Coleman wrote “Just something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet.”

Searchlight Magazine also reported that Coleman ordered a combat knife online and that searches of the home he shared with his family uncovered swastika-adorned items, a bug-detection device, an air rifle and a collection of knives.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan, head of operations for the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, was quoted describing Coleman as “a really dangerous individual” whose physical exchange of cash for firearms demonstrated commitment to violence “way beyond simply typing out ideas of fantasy on his computer.”

While all the outlets describe the same MI5 sting and the same Stratford handover, they frame Coleman’s case with different emphases, including the nature of the ideology, the mechanics of the evidence, and the broader implications.

Searchlight Magazine foregrounded what it called a “highly sophisticated” MI5 undercover operation and described Coleman’s preparations as being brought to an abrupt end, then detailed the cash exchange and the items retrieved from the boot, including a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

LBC

The Independent and BBC both stressed the encrypted communications and the undercover officers’ engagement in “encrypted chat,” with the BBC describing the sting at a Morrisons car park in Stratford on 29 September 2023 and the Independent describing the video of Coleman dropping £3,500 and picking up a holdall.

Sky News and the BBC both highlighted Coleman’s “kill list” or “manifesto” and the “race traitors” concept, but Sky News added that his diaries outlined plans and compared his writings to other extreme right terrorists such as Dylann Roof, Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant, who he referred to as “warriors.”

LBC and The Independent both described Coleman as a former part-time Tesco worker and said he was caught after undercover officers from MI5 engaged with him in encrypted chat as he sought to buy weapons, while LBC also included the detail that he had been “snared” trying to buy a Makarov semi-automatic pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

Searchlight Magazine included a specific quote from Coleman—“fallen for a trap”—and also quoted Helen Flanagan’s assessment that the physical exchange demonstrated commitment to violence “way beyond simply typing out ideas of fantasy on his computer.”

The BBC, by contrast, quoted Flanagan saying “Coleman was an extremely dangerous individual, who was planning a lethal terrorist attack,” and said “Were it not for the incredible work of our officers, in close liaison with our colleagues from MI5, this could have had a very different outcome.”

The conviction leaves Coleman facing sentencing after the Old Bailey retrial, with Searchlight Magazine and multiple outlets saying he was remanded in custody awaiting sentencing on 8 July.

“Skip to main content Neo-Nazi guilty of terror charge after MI5 sting about 2 hours ago”

One News Page

The Independent and BBC both said the jury convicted him of preparing for terrorist acts on Thursday after the retrial, and that he was remanded in custody to be sentenced on July 8.

Searchlight Magazine

In the aftermath, Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan framed the outcome as a success of counter-terrorism policing and MI5 working together, while also emphasizing the risk to the public.

The Independent quoted Flanagan saying “The verdict shows the success of counter terrorism policing and MI5 working together and that’s what we do day in day out.”

Searchlight Magazine quoted Flanagan describing Coleman as “a really dangerous individual” and said his physical exchange of cash for firearms demonstrated commitment to violence “way beyond simply typing out ideas of fantasy on his computer.”

The BBC quoted Flanagan saying “Were it not for the incredible work of our officers, in close liaison with our colleagues from MI5, this could have had a very different outcome,” and added that she said he had developed “a plan and intention to kill members of the public.”

Sky News similarly quoted Flanagan praising the joint effort and saying “Alfie Coleman is a really dangerous individual, and through our work, we were able to thwart any attack and manage that risk to the public.”