UK POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF INVOLVEMENT IN NEO-NAZI TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

Thu 01 April 2021:

Benjamin Hannam, a Metropolitan Police constable, has become the first law enforcement officer in the UK to be convicted of belonging to a far-right terrorist group, after a London court found him guilty of being a recruiter for a banned neo-Nazi organization, domestic media outlets said on Thursday.

Hannam, from north London, was found guilty by an Old Bailey jury of being a member of National Action, a far-right group that the UK government has designated as a terrorist organization, the Sky news broadcaster said.

After the police constable’s arrest in March last year, detectives found an image on his iPhone showing him in police uniform, with a Hitler-style moustache superimposed on his face and a Nazi badge on his lapel.

They also found he had downloaded a knife-fighting manual and a copy of the “manifesto” of the right-wing extremist Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people, mostly children, in bomb and gun attacks in Norway in 2011.

Image:Hannam took part in boxing and other physical activities with fellow National Action members

The court was shown videos of Hannam in physical activity sessions, including boxing, with members of the group in woodland.

Further videos showed Hannam and others in the group in Swindon, painting graffiti of the NS131 logo on walls at two locations around the town.

Those activities took place just weeks before he applied to join the Metropolitan Police in July 2017.

Hannam told the court his interest in fascism started because he liked the “bold look” of Nazi propaganda posters.

He said he suffered from autism, which made him obsessive about downloading material.

The 22-year-old reportedly joined the Metropolitan Police in 2018, and after his arrest last year, detectives discovered a selfie that included a superimposed Hitler-style mustache, the broadcaster said.

Investigators also found a copy of far-right Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik’s manifesto on his personal devices. Breivik murdered 77 people during a coordinated bomb and gun attack in Norway back in 2011.

National Action is a far-right neo-Nazi terrorist organization that was founded in 2013. The group was added to the UK government’s list of terrorist organizations back in 2016.