Who is Aine Davis? Fourth alleged Islamic State ‘Beatles’ terror cell member arrested at Luton Airport

A man alleged to be the fourth member of the so-called Islamic State terror cell known as ‘The Beatles’ has been charged with terrorism offences.

Aine Davis, 38, was arrested at Luton Airport on Wednesday evening (10 August) after arriving in England following being deported by Turkish authorities.

He has been charged with terrorism offences in 2014 and possession of a firearm for a purpose connected with terrorism, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Met Police said he had been taken to a south London police station where he currently remains in custody.

He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (11 August).

Who is Aine Davis?

Davis was detained in relation to offences under sections 15, 17 and 57 of the Terrorism Act, 2000.

Before being radicalised Davis was convicted on drugs offences and was jailed in 2006 for possessing a firearm.

After converting to Islam, he changed his name to Hamza and met Mohammed Emwazi - nicknamed ‘Jihadi John’ by the media.

The two were part of a group that radicalised Muslims living in London, and Davis left the UK to join IS in 2013.

Davis was arrested near Istanbul in 2015 and was convicted by a Turkish court two years later of being a senior member of a terrorist organisation.

At his trial, Davis admitted knowing Emwazi from praying in the same mosque in west London, but denied being his friend, or a member of the “IS Beatles” group.

What is the ‘Beatles’ terror group?

The ‘Beatles’ cell is believed to have been made up of four members who volunteered to fight for IS in Syria and ended up guarding Western hostages.

All members are thought to have grown up in west London.

They were nicknamed the Beatles, after the Liverpudlian band, by hostages due to their English accents.

US authorities have said the group killed 27 hostages, beheading several of them - with videos of the murders sent around the world causing outrage.

The group’s actions are said to have resulted in the deaths of four US hostages, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, as well as British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and Japanese journalists Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.

Cell ringleader Mohammed Emwazi, widely known as ‘Jihadi John’, was killed in a drone strike in Syria in 2015.

The two other group members are in custody in the US after being captured by Kurdish forces in Syria in 2018.

Alexanda Kotey is serving a life sentence and El Shafee Elsheikh is due to be sentenced this month in the US after being convicted in April.

Both men were stripped of their British citizenship in 2018.

What have the police said?

A spokesman from the Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “A 38-year-old man has been charged with various terrorism offences following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

“Aine Leslie Davis, (11.02.84) of no fixed address, was charged with offences contrary to sections 15, 17 and 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

“He has been remanded in police custody and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later this morning, Thursday August 11.

The statement added: “On Wednesday August 10, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command arrested a 38-year-old man at Luton Airport after he arrived into the UK on a flight from Turkey.

“He was taken to a south London police station and subsequently charged with the above offences.”

A spokesman for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said: “The CPS authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Aine Leslie Junior Davis for terrorism offences in 2014, and after being deported to England by Turkish authorities he has been arrested at Luton airport following his return to the UK.

“Mr Davis, 38, has been charged with terrorism offences and possession of a firearm for a purpose connected with terrorism.”

The spokesman added: “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Davis are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”