Vulnerable girl, 16, accused of terror investigated by MI5 until death, inquest told
A vulnerable teenage girl who is believed to have killed herself after her terror charges were dropped was investigated by MI5 until her death, an inquest has heard.
The hearing was told MI5 had “no indication” from intelligence it gathered prior to Rhianan Rudd’s death that she had intended to end her own life.
The girl, who died aged 16, was investigated from October 2020 after threatening to blow up a synagogue, but her criminal charges were dropped five months before she died when it emerged she had been groomed and exploited by a neo-Nazi.
The inquest heard Rhianan (pictured), who had autism, was found with a ligature around her neck at Bluebell House Residential Home in Nottinghamshire on May 19 2022, where she had been in the care of the local authority.
An MI5 officer, who is referred to as Witness A and cannot be named, gave evidence from behind a screen on Friday to Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, sitting at an asylum and immigration tribunal centre in London.
He agreed that Rhianan remained a subject of interest (SOI) under MI5 investigation until her death, despite her prosecution being discontinued months earlier.
He told the court: “It’s our duty to look at ongoing risks… MI5 will continue to investigate that.
“The long-term objective would be to close the investigation. The decision made by counter-terrorism policing to arrest Rhianan was one that focused on managing that threat as well as preserving evidence and other issues.”
Chief coroner Judge Alexia Durran heard that it was a “well-known fact” to MI5 that Rhianan self-harmed during the period she was being investigated by police.
Witness A said: “It was very clear from the beginning that Rhianan had said she self-harmed and that self-harm was a consistent feature in the investigation into Rhianan. From the outset, MI5 considered Rhianan to be a vulnerable young person.
“She appeared to have a violent right-wing extremist mindset, she showed some intent as a result of being radicalised online.
“Investigating her was the only way of understanding the threat she might pose to national security.”
Witness A said that safeguarding is not one of MI5’s statutory functions, but believes it is “very important” and is the responsibility of counter terrorism policing (CTP).
MI5 contacted the FBI in December 2020 which later provided all known communication between Rhianan and a far-right extremist from America who groomed her, the court heard.
The inquest heard MI5 was told that the man had a “personal relationship” with Rhianan, communicated with her on WhatsApp, including sending links to “racially motivated, violent extremist books” and considered her, then aged 14, as his girlfriend.
The court heard that MI5 sought advice in April 2021 from its Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) on the level of risk Rhianan posed which said it must be “mindful of the inherent challenges”.
The inquest was told that a BSU officer said that “Rhianan is an individual who is both vulnerable and risky at the same time”.
Witness A told the chief coroner: “It is entirely possible for someone to be a victim of a whole range of factors… someone being a victim does not mean they can also not be a perpetrator.”
The inquest heard that during a meeting in April 2022, the month before Rhianan’s death, police updated MI5 and said that the girl had recently started speaking with a German accent and dressed in camouflage on Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
The court also heard that MI5 is not able to make a referral under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which identifies victims of modern slavery.
Witness A said: “At the beginning of the Rhianan case, the application of online radicalisation to the Modern Slavery Act was not something anyone had focused on. I don’t think it was seen as having application in that respect.
“It was seen as a novel or new approach, a new way of using this legislation. Since, a number of SOI’s have been referred under the NRM by CTP.”
The court heard that MI5 officers said in email exchanges that it “does not sit comfortably” to see more investigations involving children.
Witness A told the court: “None of us joined MI5 to investigate children. It does not sit comfortably with any of us. It’s becoming a necessary requirement.
“It’s not something that’s comfortable as the numbers grow – it’s something our staff feel is an added challenge to the job.”
Rhianan’s mother, Emily Carter, had referred her daughter to the deradicalisation scheme Prevent in September 2020 before she was arrested based on a concern she had a “massive dislike” for certain races and ethnicities.
The inquest heard that Rhianan could not be “supported simultaneously by Prevent” while under police investigation.
Witness A told the inquest: “It was well understood there were complexities and therefore it would be very rare for there to be a police investigation going on, under what we call ‘Pursue’, at the same time as running Prevent. The policy at the time was that could not happen.”
The court heard that another MI5 officer decided that Rhianan should not be an exception to that rule.
The inquest continues.
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