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https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16450798/david-amess-murder-suspect-radicalise-anjem-choudary/
SUSPECTED MP killer Ali Harbi Ali was radicalised after watching YouTube videos of hate preacher Anjem Choudary, former friends claimed last night.
As a first photo of the alleged knifeman emerged, school pals said vile online material turned him from a popular pupil into an extremist.
Sir David Amess’ grief-stricken family said: “We are broken.”
One friend who witnessed his dramatic change told The Sun last night: “Choudary was someone he became utterly obsessed with.”
Despite Ali’s radicalisation, relatives claimed he had trained to become an NHS doctor after spending four years at a top medical school.
But investigators are confident that Ali, 25, was not directed by terror kingpins abroad.
He had been previously referred to the Government’s Prevent anti-terror scheme but investigators are still piecing together how and when he became radicalised.
It’s believed he was referred to the scheme as long ago as five years ago by a teacher who believed him to be an extremist risk.
Sources have said Ali did not say anything of note during the attack on Tory MP Sir David Amess but was seen using his mobile phone moments afterwards.
He was said to have sat down calmly to wait for cops and picked up his phone before his arrest.
It’s not known whether he used the phone to record any comments after the attack or to send a message to a third party.
But the actions, seen by witnesses in the room, are understood to be at the centre of why investigators labelled the attack a “terror incident,” The Telegraph reports.
Sources said Ali’s online contacts — and what material he viewed — were now “prime movers” in the investigation.
Last night a former pal told how Ali had been a popular pupil who loved playing football at their secondary school in Croydon, South London.
They said: “He had been a really lovely lad. A devoted Muslim and very popular. He enjoyed football and was very normal and we’d all go to the cinema.
“He’d socialise and everyone really liked him.”
However the friend said his personality then changed dramatically in the sixth form after being lured into extremism online.
The pal went on: “He watched a lot of extreme videos including those posted by Choudary and his followers. Everyone used to say to him, ‘But he’s a hate cleric and hates the West’ but he didn’t care. He became a huge fan.
“He admired Anjem, said he was right and his cause was right. It disgusted me. We were all very, very worried.
“He became totally radicalised through the internet and now he’s a suspect in something as evil as this. It’s horrendous.”
Convicted hate preacher Choudary — back on the streets after being released from jail — is considered one of the most influential and dangerous radicalisers in the UK….
