A British born Imam who was caught given hate-filled sermons by an undercover police officer who attended the mosque has been jailed for six and a half years.

Kamran Sabir Hussain, 40, stood at a lectern before a black Islamic State flag draped inside the Stoke-on-Trent mosque where he attempted to radicalise members of his congregation, including young children.

In secret recordings made of his sermons by a police officer who had infiltrated the mosque, Hussain was seen addressing a congregation including young children — two of whom were under five years told — and explaining the importance of martyrdom.

Telling the children that dying in the service of Islam was the “supreme success” and better than doing well at school, the preacher also said organisations like the English Defence League and Britain First were funded by the British government to attack Islam, reports The Daily Mail.

He said: “They tell you in your schools, they tell you in your colleges, in your work places, you need to have ambition, you need to progress, you need to move forward.

“If indeed you are adventurous, you are ambitious, you’re ready to take on the challenge, then Allah gives you the actions you need to take – the ones who died fighting for the sake of Allah.

“Allah’s saying they are the ones who have supreme success, those who fought in the cause of Allah.”

Speaking of non-Muslims, the imam said: “The kuffar (unbeliever) will attack you and kill you… Stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to stand in the face of the elements of [Satan], be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt.”

It is reported this case is the first to come before a British court where secret recordings taken inside a mosque by an undercover police officer have been used as evidence.

In his defence, Hussain told police he was exercising his right to free speech and that he was discussing “difficult concepts in a challenging world”.