The headline here is very misleading and different from the article - has the article changed or been editorialised here?
"On my way to blow up the plane (I'm a member of the Taliban)."
British man, but - going by the name - presumably of Indian (?) heritage.
The article doesn't give his actual background (which seems like craven reporting), but crap joke or not you don't get to make those comments as a young British Asian male in a "private" group chat (neither are the number of individuals in the group described) in that context and not expect there to be repercussions.
I'm suspicious also of the idea this was intercepted by gchq, it's quite believable that's a cover for somebody in the group being (rightfully) worried and doing their civic duty.
Perhaps it's an overreaction and security overreach but there's more complexity than indicated in the simplistic headline here.
He says it was an in-joke with his friends about the way he looked.
From that I would like to abduce the fact that the friends the message was addressed to were not in the airport (at least not all of them) otherwise he wouldn't be informing them he's going to his flight.
Based on that, I have a hunch the message was "intercepted" by one of his friends' parents who freaked out and told the cops who raised the alarm. That would be the easiest way to explain how the message was "picked up" in the first place.
"On my way to blow up the plane (I'm a member of the Taliban)."
British man, but - going by the name - presumably of Indian (?) heritage.
The article doesn't give his actual background (which seems like craven reporting), but crap joke or not you don't get to make those comments as a young British Asian male in a "private" group chat (neither are the number of individuals in the group described) in that context and not expect there to be repercussions.
I'm suspicious also of the idea this was intercepted by gchq, it's quite believable that's a cover for somebody in the group being (rightfully) worried and doing their civic duty.
Perhaps it's an overreaction and security overreach but there's more complexity than indicated in the simplistic headline here.