MI5 probe of groomed girl continued until death

MI5 was still investigating a vulnerable teenage girl until her death even after terrorism charges were dropped, an inquest has heard.

Rhianan Rudd, from Bolsover in Derbyshire, was the youngest girl charged with terror offences in the UK before the prosecution was discontinued and she took her own life months later on 19 May 2022.

Chesterfield Coroner's Court, sitting in London for the day, heard from an MI5 officer involved in Rhianan's case - identified only as Witness A.

Giving evidence behind a screen in court on Friday, he said: "It's our duty to look at ongoing risks - MI5 will continue to investigate that."

Rhianan, who was autistic and had a history of self-harm, took her own life aged 16 in a children's home.

The inquest previously heard Rhianan had been groomed online by a far-right extremist in the US, became "fixated" on Adolf Hitler and wanted to "blow up a synagogue" before her death.

Giving evidence at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal court, Witness A said MI5's main responsibility was to "assess threats to national security", but that safeguarding concerns were taken into account when investigating people.

He added it was kept updated on all relevant matters regarding Rhianan's wellbeing but it was not a safeguarding referral body, unlike Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM).

The inquest was told MI5 opened an investigation into Rhianan following contact from CTPEM in early October of 2020.

Edward Pleeth, counsel for the inquest, asked Witness A if MI5 knew about Rhianan's history of self-harm.

Witness A said it was "very clear from the beginning" there were safeguarding concerns relating to her mental health.

He added the investigation was expanded and Rhianan became what the intelligence service call a "subject of interest".

"She appeared to have a very right-wing extremist mindset, she showed some intent after being radicalised online," Witness A said.

"An investigation [being launched] was the only way to see if she was a threat to national security."

The court has previously heard Rhianan downloaded bomb manuals, guides on guerrilla warfare and media glorifying white supremacy and Nazism.

She also told her mother she "wants to go to a synagogue and blow it up", and had spoken about "slitting people's throats".

Email correspondence read out between MI5 and CTPEM officers referred to Rhianan's case as the "fascist radicalisation of a minor", that it made MI5 investigators "uncomfortable", and that more and more cases of this nature were coming up.

When asked about this, Witness A said: "None us joined MI5 to investigate children.

"In our case work, it does not sit comfortably with us - it's become a necessary requirement.

"It's not comfortable as the numbers grow - it's something our staff feel is an added challenge to the job."

The court heard MI5 contacted the FBI in the US due to Rhianan's "contact with a US individual that her mother had been in a relationship with".

The FBI disclosed WhatsApp conversations between Rhianan and US national Chris Cook, which the inquest heard sent her extreme far-right material to read.

The court heard the FBI told MI5 that Cook had a "personal relationship" with Rhianan and referred to her as his girlfriend.

Witness A was then directed to look at correspondence from MI5's behavioural science unit (BSU) – a team that uses psychological insight to help identify and prevent terrorist attacks.

In it, it said Rhianan was both "vulnerable and risky" in relation to being a threat to national security.

In April 2022, a month before she died, police updated MI5 during a meeting and said Rhianan had recently started "speaking with a German accent", and "dressed in camouflage on Adolf Hitler's birthday".

Months before her death, charges against Rhianan were eventually dropped after a Home Office unit that deals with modern slavery and trafficking made a formal finding that she was a victim of exploitation.

But the inquest has heard that the referral to the Home Office was not made by police after they began investigating Rhianan in autumn 2020.

Rather, the inquest heard it was only made at the instigation of defence lawyers after she was charged in April 2021.

Witness A was asked about the "balance" between safeguarding concerns around Rhianan, and the national security threat.

He said bail conditions put restrictions on her movements and her online activity, which "acted as a safeguarding mechanism".

He agreed that Rhianan remained a subject of interest under MI5 investigation until her death.

"It's our duty to look at ongoing risks - MI5 will continue to investigate that," he said.

"There were considerable restrictions on her online activity and movements so the question we ask was - is there still a threat here?

"The long-term objective would have been there was no longer a threat and to close the investigation."

The court heard following Rhianan's death, MI5 undertook a retrospective review of the case.

Asked by Mr Pleeth what MI5 concluded, Witness A said: "There was no indication that she wanted to take her own life from the intelligence that MI5 gathered."

The inquest continues.

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