Jihadi Jack says he has ‘no intention of blowing up British people’
Jihadi Jack has is desperate to return home to his mum and says he feels guilty after they were convicted of funding terrorism by sending him money in Syria.
Muslim convert Jack Letts has not seen his parents since he travelled to the country in 2014 from his Oxford home when he was just a teenager.
Lett’s told Sky News the the couple’s conviction at the Old Bailey on Friday ‘doesn’t really make much sense’.
He was interviewed from the prison in northern Syria where is being held by Kurdish authorities accused of being a member of Isis.
He insisted Brits are ‘my people’ and added: ‘I’ve no intention of blowing them up, that’s probably important.’
Organic farmer John Letts, 58, and former Oxfam fundraising officer Sally Lane, 57, walked free from court after being given suspended sentences.
The court heard they ignored repeated warnings their son had joined Isis in Syria and sent – or tried to send – a total of £1,723 for him despite being told by police three times not to.
They were found guilty of one charge of funding terrorism in September 2015, but cleared of the same charge in December 2015.
A third charge relating to an attempt to send money in January 2016 was ordered to lie on file after jurors could not agree.
In a statement following their trial the parents maintained they did ‘what any parent would do if they thought that their child’s life was in danger’.
Jack Letts told Sky News: ‘I feel guilty for what I’ve put them through’
He added: ‘It’s two 60-year-old atheists being convicted for Islamic terrorism, it doesn’t really make much sense.’
He said his parents had sent him money to leave Syria and that he had used some of it to buy basic essentials including glasses.
He said: ‘I really want to see them more than I’ve ever wanted to see them in my whole life.’
The couple have told how the situation and their three-year court ordeal has had devastating consequences on their lives.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Lane said her life is now ‘in ruins’ while John Letts said the conviction ‘destroys me’.
The trial heard that the pair refused to believe their 18-year-old son had become an extremist when they allowed him to travel, and following the verdicts they said they remain ‘committed to help Jack return home’.
Got a story for Metro.co.uk?
If you have a story for our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk.