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| National Action: Men jailed for being members of banned neo-Nazi group | National Action: Men jailed for being members of banned neo-Nazi group |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two men have been found guilty of being members of banned neo-Nazi group National Action. | Two men have been found guilty of being members of banned neo-Nazi group National Action. |
| Christopher Lythgoe, 32, of Warrington, and Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, were convicted after a trial lasting over five weeks. | Christopher Lythgoe, 32, of Warrington, and Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, were convicted after a trial lasting over five weeks. |
| Lythgoe was jailed for eight years and Hankinson for six. | Lythgoe was jailed for eight years and Hankinson for six. |
| Earlier in the trial, another man, Jack Renshaw, 23, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire, admitted preparing an act of terrorism after buying a machete. | Earlier in the trial, another man, Jack Renshaw, 23, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire, admitted preparing an act of terrorism after buying a machete. |
| He admitted buying it for the purpose of murdering West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper. | He admitted buying it for the purpose of murdering West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper. |
| A former National Action member, Robbie Mullen, warned the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate of Renshaw's plan, and they went to the police. | A former National Action member, Robbie Mullen, warned the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate of Renshaw's plan, and they went to the police. |
| Ms Cooper thanked Mr Mullen and the police forces who helped her, adding: "I think it's awful that any public servant - teacher, nurse, doctor, police, MP - should be targeted and threatened with violence simply because of the job they do." | Ms Cooper thanked Mr Mullen and the police forces who helped her, adding: "I think it's awful that any public servant - teacher, nurse, doctor, police, MP - should be targeted and threatened with violence simply because of the job they do." |
| 'Perverted ideology' | 'Perverted ideology' |
| A total of six men were on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of being members of National Action. | A total of six men were on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of being members of National Action. |
| Lythgoe, the National Action leader, was found not guilty of encouragement to murder for allegedly giving Renshaw permission to kill Ms Cooper on behalf of the group. | Lythgoe, the National Action leader, was found not guilty of encouragement to murder for allegedly giving Renshaw permission to kill Ms Cooper on behalf of the group. |
| Renshaw also admitted threatening to kill Det Con Victoria Henderson, who was investigating him for other matters. | Renshaw also admitted threatening to kill Det Con Victoria Henderson, who was investigating him for other matters. |
| Mr Justice Jay said group meetings after the ban were attempting to keep alive an aspiration that was "truly insidious and evil: the idea that this country should be purged of its ethnic minorities and its Jews; that the rule of law should be subverted; and that once the ideological revolution had taken place this national socialist world view would triumph". | Mr Justice Jay said group meetings after the ban were attempting to keep alive an aspiration that was "truly insidious and evil: the idea that this country should be purged of its ethnic minorities and its Jews; that the rule of law should be subverted; and that once the ideological revolution had taken place this national socialist world view would triumph". |
| Sentencing Lythgoe, he said: "You are a fully-fledged neo-Nazi replete with concomitant deep-seated, entrenched racism and anti-Semitism." | Sentencing Lythgoe, he said: "You are a fully-fledged neo-Nazi replete with concomitant deep-seated, entrenched racism and anti-Semitism." |
| The judge told Hankinson: "You too are a neo-Nazi who glorifies and revels in a perverted ideology, has a deep hatred of ethnic minorities and Jews and has advocated violence to achieve your objectives." | The judge told Hankinson: "You too are a neo-Nazi who glorifies and revels in a perverted ideology, has a deep hatred of ethnic minorities and Jews and has advocated violence to achieve your objectives." |
| Racial hatred conviction | Racial hatred conviction |
| Jurors were unable to decide either whether Renshaw had remained a member of National Action after it was banned, or whether two other men - Michal Trubini, 35, from Warrington and Andrew Clarke, 33, from Prescot, Merseyside - were guilty of the same charge. | Jurors were unable to decide either whether Renshaw had remained a member of National Action after it was banned, or whether two other men - Michal Trubini, 35, from Warrington and Andrew Clarke, 33, from Prescot, Merseyside - were guilty of the same charge. |
| Another defendant - Garron Helm, 24, from Seaforth in Merseyside - was found not guilty of being a member of the group. | Another defendant - Garron Helm, 24, from Seaforth in Merseyside - was found not guilty of being a member of the group. |
| It can also now be reported that Renshaw was convicted earlier this year of two counts of stirring up racial hatred in speeches he made in 2016. | It can also now be reported that Renshaw was convicted earlier this year of two counts of stirring up racial hatred in speeches he made in 2016. |
| National Action, which was founded in 2013, was the first extreme right-wing group to be banned in the UK. | National Action, which was founded in 2013, was the first extreme right-wing group to be banned in the UK. |
| It was proscribed in December 2016 after it was assessed as being "concerned in terrorism". | It was proscribed in December 2016 after it was assessed as being "concerned in terrorism". |
| Earlier that year, the group had celebrated the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by a white supremacist, which the government said amounted to the unlawful glorification of terrorism. | Earlier that year, the group had celebrated the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by a white supremacist, which the government said amounted to the unlawful glorification of terrorism. |
| Det Supt Will Chatterton, head of investigations for counter-terrorism policing for the North West, said: "Today's result has enabled the spotlight to be shone on the sickening activities of the banned extreme right-wing organisation National Action [and] is a body blow to extreme right-wing organisations. | Det Supt Will Chatterton, head of investigations for counter-terrorism policing for the North West, said: "Today's result has enabled the spotlight to be shone on the sickening activities of the banned extreme right-wing organisation National Action [and] is a body blow to extreme right-wing organisations. |
| "It sends out a clear message that counter-terrorism officers and partner agencies will rigorously identify and investigate any violently extreme individual or group who seek to bring a reign of terror to our shores." | "It sends out a clear message that counter-terrorism officers and partner agencies will rigorously identify and investigate any violently extreme individual or group who seek to bring a reign of terror to our shores." |
| Deputy director of Hope Not Hate, Jemma Levene, welcomed the sentences, adding: "This case should remind everyone of the ongoing threat posed by the British far right. | |
| "While numerically small and splintered, the British far right is growing in violence. This case has brought National Action to its knees, but we must remain vigilant." |