ISHAQ Kanmi is a 'rotten apple’ whose crimes have shocked the wider community.

That's according to Coun Salim Mulla, who said he was close friends with Kanmi’s factory-worker father and housewife mother who are ‘appalled’ at their son’s arrest and conviction.

Kanmi yesterday pleaded guilty to professing to belong to al Qaeda and inviting support for the terror group.

He also admitted collecting or making a record of information likely to be useful to a terrorist and three counts of disseminating terrorist publications.

Blackburn man guilty of terror offences Coun Mulla, also the secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, lives less than a mile from the former Kanmi family home in the Audley Range area of Blackburn.

He said the 23-year-old’s family were still in shock at his arrest and conviction.

Coun Mulla said: “They are good friends of mine and this period has been very tough for them.

“I think they have reacted in the same way as the whole community.

"They couldn’t believe it at first and now they are shocked and appalled at his behaviour.

“He and the others have been completely out of order.

“Their behaviour is not acceptable to the community or to the Muslim faith.

“We do not accept terrorism.

“This man was a rotten apple and 99.9 per cent of Muslims here are law-abiding citizens.

“We are working with the police and the Government to make sure we root out anyone trying to recruit others into terrorism because it is wrong.”

He said that few people in the community knew the 'lonely and reclusive' Kanmi.