Shahid Butt: From Convicted Militant to Sparkhill Council Candidate
Shahid Butt, a 60-year-old lifelong resident of Sparkhill, has openly acknowledged leading a colourful life filled with errors and missteps. I have made mistakes, and I have regrets, of course, he admits. However, he firmly rejects attempts to label him as a thug, terrorist, or advocate of violence in the present day.
Butt has recently declared his intention to stand in the May city council elections for the Sparkhill ward, his home territory. He is one of approximately 20 candidates representing the Independent Candidates Alliance, a group spearheaded by contentious local figures Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar. All three individuals have publicly affirmed their pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist positions.
Nevertheless, Butt emphasises that his decision to run is not motivated by distant international conflicts. It is because I care about the future of my home community, he states. I have seen my community change over five decades, and it breaks my heart. We need to take matters into our own hands; let's get it sorted out together.
A Turbulent Past: From Street Gangs to Terrorism Convictions
Growing up in Sparkhill, Butt spent his early years enjoying cricket and playing in Sparkhill Park. From age 11, he became increasingly conscious of the pervasive racism surrounding him. During his teenage years, he helped establish the notorious Lynx gang, a predominantly Pakistani street group that clashed with far-right, anti-immigrant factions in the 1970s and 80s.
His associates included Moazzam Begg, who was later detained in Guantanamo Bay for three years on terrorism allegations before being released without charge. Butt describes feeling frustrated and angry as a Pakistani minority in Birmingham, often ignoring his parents' advice to avoid conflict. Our parents were telling us to keep our heads down and not get involved—but we were under attack, he recalls.
Following the Salman Rushdie affair, Butt embraced his faith more deeply, participating in Islamic protests and becoming involved with fundamentalist Islamism, influenced by radical cleric Abu Hamza. He travelled to Bosnia and Afghanistan to fight against allied forces, believing it was his religious duty. In 1998, he was captured in Yemen.
Butt was part of a ten-member group, including Abu Hamza's son and stepson, arrested on terror charges. In 1999, he was convicted for being in an armed gang and conspiring to bomb the British consulate, an Anglican church, and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen. The group was allegedly connected to Islamic radicals who kidnapped 16 Westerners in 1998, resulting in four deaths.
He served five years in a Yemeni prison, maintaining his innocence throughout. My actual charge was being a member of an armed gang and conspiring to commit violence, not terrorism as such, he explains. The whole thing was about conspiring...nobody actually died, nothing happened at all. He claims confessions were obtained under torture and evidence was fabricated, citing his Timotei shampoo being presented as bomb-making material.
Reflection and Redemption: A New Path Forward
Butt expresses profound regret for his past associations with violence. Look, like many people, you look back and think at the time you were doing the right thing, he reflects. You have a lot of zeal, and I came from the streets. 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. The only way I could deal with it was by lashing out.
He admits to lacking intellectual development during his youth, relying on physical prowess from martial arts and street fighting. I made a lot of mistakes; there is a lot I regret from my past, he concedes. But now it is done, and I have to live with it. That's why I got involved in stopping young men from making the mistakes I did.
In recent years, Butt has collaborated with the Home Office and the Prevent programme, sharing his experiences to steer young people away from extremism. He has also served as an expert speaker and mentor nationally and internationally.
Controversial Views and Community Priorities
Despite his reform efforts, Butt remains a polarising figure. His encouragement for young men to train in gyms for potential future conflicts echoes rhetoric similar to Andrew Tate. He is vocal in his support for Palestine and opposition to Israel's existence, while also backing the stop the boats movement. 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, he remarks. That is not being racist; that is being a good British citizen. Some of the things the far right say, I agree with.
Questions have arisen regarding Butt's connections to the social housing sector, particularly supported exempt accommodation. He has previously operated Community Interest Companies (CICs) in social housing but asserts this is now in the past. He has been linked to Saira Butt (no relation), who is under investigation following the collapse of her housing provider company, Midland Livings. Butt denies current involvement as a property owner or landlord, stating he lives in a rental property and declined business opportunities with Ms. Butt after meetings last year.
Anticipating scrutiny, Butt is prepared for media focus on his Yemen conviction. I am prepared for the headlines, he says. But my priorities are to support the youth and their education, to turn them away from drugs and anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving. I want safer and cleaner streets in Sparkhill.
