Aidan James, 28, is first Briton to stand trial for travelling to Syria to join battle against Isis

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

A British man who trained to fight with Kurdish units against Islamic State has been found guilty of a terrorism offence in a retrial at the Old Bailey.

Aidan James, 28, from Formby in Merseyside, was found guilty of training in weapons with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) in Iraq.

But he was cleared of a second charge of attending a place of terror training with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.

James was remanded in custody to be sentenced on 7 November.

It is the first time a Briton has been put on trial for travelling to Syria to oppose Isis, after similar charges were dropped against former soldier James Matthews, 43, from east London, in 2018.

James, who had been repeatedly turned down by British armed forces due to poor mental health, had no previous military knowledge when he set out to join the war against Isis in 2017.

The court heard how he was in contact with the anti-terror Prevent programme before he left Britain for Iraq in August 2017.

According to an officer’s notes of a meeting in April 2017, ruled inadmissible in the trial by Mr Justice Edis, James had said he wanted to help the “PKK YPG” in their battle against Isis. Days later, he was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts after broadcasting his intentions on Facebook.

During his interview with police he claimed he was heading to Syria to help with “humanitarian aid” and dismissed the suggestion he was going for terrorism as “ridiculous”.

James said at the time: “Nothing will stop me going, even if you take my passport off me I will still find a way to go. I cannot sit at home and watch people getting fucking butchered because it’s another country.”

He said he was “ripped” from 11 years of kickboxing training, but had been turned down by the army, RAF, navy and Territorial Army because of his mental health. The father of one put his plans on hold after this arrest, but set off for Iraq in August when his bail was cancelled and passport returned.

He wrote in his diary that sitting on a roof with a 50-calibre machine gun was like something out of “Mad Max”. By December, he wrote that the situation was worsening, saying: “Daesh is the biggest threat the world has seen since Hitler so anything I can do in these operations is good.”

On Christmas Eve, James posted a new profile picture on Facebook in which he referred to a region in Syria in a Christmas greetings message.

The court heard how a police negotiator was in regular email contact with James.

In one message around Christmas, the negotiator wrote: “I have not heard from you for some time so I wanted to check that you are OK. I imagine that at this time you may feel quite lonely in particular on Christmas Day.

“Being away from your mum and child cannot be easy, particularly when you are facing such conflict in Syria. As always I remain available to assist your return home to Liverpool and to support you through that process.”

As he made moves to go home, James wrote in his diary of his “amazing time”. He wrote: “Lost good friends, met great ones, fought on front line numerous times, killed Daesh soldiers, been shot at many times by Isis and our own guys.

“Drove humvys (sic), sat on roof as drove through desert, attacked by suicide vehicles many times, mortar fire, sniper RPG, drones, chilled with donkey.”

The court heard he finally returned to Liverpool John Lennon airport on 14 February last year on flights via Baghdad, Amman and Amsterdam.

James declined to give evidence but denied training with PKK terrorists in Makhmour, Iraq, on or before 1 October 2017 and attending another place for training in Syria with YPG units on or before 4 November 2017.