A Muslim activist who was jailed for his part in an armed terror plot is standing to become a Birmingham councillor in May.

Shahid Butt received a five-year jail term in 1999 after being convicted of conspiring to launch bomb attacks on the British consulate, an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen.

Prosecutors in Yemen claimed the group had been dispatched to carry out violence by Abu Hamza, the hate preacher, who was the father of one of the convicted men.

Mr Butt has been revealed as a candidate for an alliance of independents preparing to fight for roughly 20 seats in the Birmingham city council election on May 7.

Labour is braced for another backlash from Muslim voters in May over the party’s stance on Israel, with pro-Gaza independents expected to make gains.

Mr Butt will represent the Independent Candidates Alliance, which has been set up by activists Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar.

The pair both competed for seats in the second city during the 2024 general election on a pro-Gaza platform.

Mr Butt was invited to comment by the Express via the email of a community group.

Candidate to fight seat in heavily Pakistani ward

Mr Butt will battle for the Sparkhill ward, a constituency where nearly two-thirds of the population has Pakistani heritage.

Speaking in a video announcing his candidacy, he said: “With the help of Allah, with your support and with these guys behind me, I know we are going to take this.”

During an interview with the Birmingham Mail, he acknowledged having “made mistakes” in his youth but maintained his innocence over his terror conviction.

He claimed his confession to being part of a terror gang had been extracted through torture and evidence against him was “planted”.

After walking free from prison in 2003, Mr Butt transformed himself into a campaigner against extremism.

Former gang member fought ‘skinheads’ in youth

During his earlier years, he had also belonged to a local gang of predominantly Pakistani youths that clashed with “skinheads” and travelled to Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Questioned about his connections to violent groups during his youth, the 60-year-old expressed regret over his actions and explained he had been aggrieved about racism.

He said: “I am not an educated person, as a kid all I heard was ‘f— off back to where you came from’ and ‘P—‘ and I got angry and bitter and the only way I could deal with it was by lashing out.”

“I was not able to communicate or deal with this differently. I’m a big guy, I’ve done martial arts, street fighting, and so I found that very easy. I did not develop intellectually until later. I was idealistic.”

Backed protests against Israeli football team

Mr Butt supported calls for protests against Israeli football side Maccabi Tel Aviv when it played Aston Villa last year. He urged “every single” local Muslim to attend.

In remarks reported by the Jewish Chronicle, he said: “I want the Palestinians to see the clips on their TikToks in Palestine, in Gaza, of Birmingham Muslims … standing there in solidarity.”

He also urged demonstrators not to take weapons to the march, saying there should be “no knives, no guns, no machetes, nothing”.

He also backed efforts by Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, who is a Birmingham MP, to stop the boats crossing the Channel.

He told the Birmingham Mail: “I also don’t want any Tom, Dick or Harry coming over and living in our communities when we don’t know who they are. That is not being racist, that is being a good British citizen.”