A man arrested in north Surrey earlier this month has been charged with a number of terrorism-related offences, police announced today (August 25).

37-year-old Surrey man Michael Nugent was arrested at a north Surrey address on August 19, and has been held by officers from the Metropolitan Police in South London since.

He was charged with at least three separate offences all relating to terrorism, the Met Police confirmed on Tuesday.

On full, the charges read:

  • Two counts of encouragement of terrorism, contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2006;
  • One count of disseminating a terrorist publication, contrary to section 2 of the TACT 2006;
  • Nine counts of collection of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to section 58 of the TACT 2000.

He has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.

Nugent was arrested around 5.40am on Wednesday August 19 "on suspicion of being a terrorist, under section 41 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000."

"The operation was pre-planned and not assisted by firearms officers," a spokesperson for the Met said following his arrest.

The police said last year that the fastest-growing terror threat in the UK comes from far-right extremism.

The Met's Assistant Commander Neil Basu said last year that the force had foiled a number of far-right plots to commit terrorism on UK soil since 2017.