A group of men who spread neo-Nazi stickers around a university campus and performed a Hitler salute have been found guilty of attempting to incite racial hatred.

The four extremists were caught on CCTV posting the stickers, with slogans including “Britain is ours - the rest must go”, around Aston University in Birmingham in July 2016.

Prosecutors said they were recruitment tools for the neo-Nazi group National Action, which was banned as a terrorist organisation later that year.

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One of the stickers posted around the university in July 2016 showed a white figure giving a Nazi-type salute, and carried the words "White Zone - National Action".

The stickers were discovered by security staff two days later and reported to police, who started a hate crime investigation.

Afterwards, the group went to the pub and one member bragged about how their activities – on the day of a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Birmingham - offended "butt-hurt students, sub-humans, and traitors".

A photo showed members with National Action’s flag, and two of them giving Nazi-type salutes as they posed in front of the university.

A day after they appeared, a post on a Twitter account run by the group’s regional arm read: “The fashy goys [sic] of National Action have hit Aston University campus”.

Four men were found guilty of inciting racial hatred with the stunt, while a fifth suspect was acquitted after four hours of jury deliberations at Birmingham Crown Court.

Chad Williams-Allen, 26, from West Bromwich and Gary Jack, 22, from Shard End, are due to be sentenced on 1 June alongside two fellow convicts who cannot be named for legal reasons.

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Members of the jury were shown a chat on the encrypted messaging app Telegram in March 2016 in which Williams-Allen sent an image of a National Action sticker, writing: “Been taking the long route home through paki land and slapping these everywhere.”

In other messages, the 26-year-old railed against multi-culturalism, Jewish people and used racial slurs.

“Back in brum - disgusting n*****s and pakis everywhere,” another read.

The unnamed 23-year-old defendant was described in court as a ”key influencer and organiser“ of National Action, while his 26-year-old associate had images on electronic devices seized by police that stated "Hitler was right" and "bring back apartheid".

Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Ward, who heads the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “We are committed to tackling all forms of extremism which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.”

All four men are said to have been members of National Action at the time but the stickers appeared six months before it became the first far-right group banned as a terrorist group in December 2016.

Other alleged members prosecuted since that date have been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, which is punishable with up to 10 years imprisonment. </s> Two of five men accused of inciting racial hatred after plastering offensive stickers across a university campus posed for a photograph giving a Nazi salute, a court has heard.

Prosecutors said “threatening, abusive or at very least insulting” stickers stuck to signs at Aston University, Birmingham, were “recruitment tools” for the neo-Nazi National Action group.

One of the stickers showed a white figure giving a Nazi salute, and stated: “White Zone – National Action”. Another read: “Britain is ours – the rest must go.”

The men are accused of putting up the stickers on the afternoon of 9 July 2016. Jurors saw university CCTV footage allegedly showing the men on campus that day.

An image showed some of the group posing in front of the university with the National Action flag, and two of them giving Nazi salutes. 



Jurors were told they would see evidence of planning, including messages and a downloaded map of the campus.

Opening the prosecution on Thursday, Kelly Brocklehurst said the defendants accepted they put the stickers up, but did not accept that they had incited racial hatred.

“When you are faced with something that says White Zone and the image of somebody with a raised right arm, stickers with swastikas, we say: how can that not be threatening, abusive or at very least insulting?” the barrister said. “That is exactly the aim, or one of the aims, of what these defendants were seeking to achieve.”

He told the jury: “There’s likely no dispute about what they did, the dispute is likely about why they did it. But we say you can be, and will be, sure they intended racial hatred, and if not they were well aware of what those stickers were capable of achieving.”

The defendants, who are all said to have been members of National Action at the time, are: Chad Williams-Allen, 26, Dean Lloyd, 27, both of West Bromwich, and Garry Jack, 22, of Birmingham. Two other men cannot be named for legal reasons.

The jury was shown messages from 2 March 2016 in which Williams-Allen allegedly sent an image of a National Action sticker, and said: “Been taking the long route home through paki land and slapping these everywhere.”

Another defendant, also 26, had images on electronic devices seized by police which allegedly said “Hitler was right” and “bring back apartheid”. 



The trial, expected to last up to three weeks, continues. </s> These are external links and will open in a new window

Four men have been convicted of inciting racial hatred after plastering a university campus with racist stickers and posing for a photo while performing Nazi-style salutes.

They were filmed at Aston University in July 2016, the same day as a Black Lives Matter march in Birmingham.

The men, from West Bromwich and Birmingham and said to be members of right-wing group National Action, had denied the charges against them.

They will be sentenced on 1 June.

Chad Williams-Allen, 26, from Tantany Lane, West Bromwich, Gary Jack, 21, from Heathland Road, Shard End and two other men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been on trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
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The men, who were caught on the university campus's CCTV, accepted posting the stickers but denied they incited racial hatred, claiming they were exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression.

A fifth man, Dean Lloyd, 27, also of Tantany Lane, West Bromwich, was cleared of the same charge.

The court heard one of the stickers, on an entrance sign, showed a white figure giving a Nazi-type salute, and carried the words: "White Zone - National Action".

Another read: "Britain is ours - the rest must go."

A day after the stickers were put up, a message appeared on the Twitter account of National Action's regional branch stating: "The fashy goys of National Action have hit Aston University campus".

The stickers, posted on the evening of the 9 July, were discovered by security staff two days later and reported to West Midlands Police.

The jury was shown texts and social media messages sent by Williams-Allen which included racist language - one of which included an image of a National Action sticker.

Other notes found at his home were of a racist nature, the court was told.

One of the other men, aged 23, was described as a "key influencer and organiser" of National Action and images deleted by a fourth man on his electronic devices stated: "Hitler was right" and "bring back apartheid".

Det Ch Supt Matt Ward, from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "We are committed to tackling all forms of extremism which has the potential to threaten public safety and security." </s> 'Neo-Nazi' leader of National Action jailed for eight years

'Neo-Nazi' leader of National Action jailed for eight years

The leader of neo-Nazi group National Action has been jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of membership of the banned group .

Christopher Lythgoe, 32, from Warrington, was sentenced at the Old Bailey. Another prominent National Action member, Matthew Hankinson, 24, was jailed for six years for membership of the group.

The far-right group was banned by the Home Secretary over its support of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death in 2016 by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair.

The court was told that Lythgoe had regarded the death of the Batley and Spen MP in her own constituency as a "little victory".

Lythgoe was arrested by police investigating a plot to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper and a female police officer.

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He was also accused of encouraging the murder of the West Lancashire MP, but was found not guilty.

Image: Labour MP Rosie Cooper was the target of a murder plot

The plot was foiled after whistle-blower Robbie Mullen leaked details of a meeting between members to campaigner group Hope Not Hate in July last year.

Jack Renshaw, 23, pleaded guilty to preparing to engage in an act of terrorism by buying a knife to kill the politician and threatening a police officer.

Renshaw, from Skelmersdale in Lancashire, has also been convicted of inciting racial hatred in speeches in 2016.

He was accused of being a member of National Action, but the jury failed to reach a verdict.

They also failed to reach verdicts on Andrew Clarke, 33, and Michal Trubini, 35.

Garron Helm, 24, was acquitted of the same charge.

Image: Jack Renshaw, 23, pleaded guilty to preparing an act of terrorism and threatening a police officer

Head of Investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing in the North West, detective superintendent Will Chatterton, said: "Today's result has enabled the spotlight to be shone on the sickening activities of the banned extreme right-wing organisation National Action.

"During the trial, one of those jailed today stood before the court and openly denied the Holocaust had taken place - an unimaginably horrific event that resulted in the murder of millions of Jews at the hands of the Nazi regime.

"Today's result is a body blow to extreme right-wing organisations such as National Action.

"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."

Mr Justice Jay said the group had a "truly evil and dystopian vision" to create a race war and had been kept going by Lythgoe's obsessive determination.

He said that Lythgoe "did nothing to stop or discourage" the plot to kill Ms Cooper.

The judge added that while its numbers were too small to achieve its true aims, there was a risk that the group's ideology could have inspired terror attacks.

Image: The defendants were tried at the Old Bailey

He described Lythgoe as a "fully-fledged neo-Nazi complete with deep-seated racism and anti-Semitism".

Ms Cooper, who sat in court as the men were jailed, said in a statement: "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.

"To that end, I'd like to thank Robbie Mullen, whose information saved my life.

National Action is the first extreme right-wing group to be banned by the government since World War Two and had up to 100 members at its height.

The court heard that the group planned to "wipe out" non-white people "by any means necessary".

In his sentencing, Mr Justice Jay said that National Action meetings, under Lythgoe's leadership had continued on a "modest" scale after the group was banned by then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The prosecution alleged the meetings continued in pubs and a mixed martial arts gym in Warrington.

All six defendants denied being members of National Action. </s> Image copyright N Chadwick Image caption Stickers were put up at Aston University in July 2016

Five men accused of plastering a university campus with racist stickers posed for a photo while performing Nazi-style salutes, a court heard.

Labels bearing messages such as "White Zone" were found at Aston University last July.

The men, said to be members of right-wing group National Action, bragged about upsetting "traitors" after the event, prosecutors said.

All five, on trial at Birmingham Crown Court, deny inciting racial hatred.

Kelly Brocklehurst, prosecuting, told jurors several batches of the stickers were deposited on campus.

'Butt-hurt students'

He said one, found on an entrance sign, showed a white figure giving a Nazi-type salute, with the words "White Zone - National Action".

Another read: "Britain is ours - the rest must go."

He told jurors they would see an email from one of the accused, described as an "organiser", boasting of provoking a reaction from "butt-hurt", or overly sensitive, students.

An image showed some of the men with the far right group's flag, and two of them giving Nazi-type salutes, posed in front of the university.

While it was understood the defendants admit putting up the stickers, Mr Brocklehurst said, they deny inciting racial hatred.

There was "likely no dispute about what they did, the dispute is likely about why they did it," he said.

"When you are faced with something that says White Zone and the image of somebody with a raised right arm, stickers with swastikas, we say how can that not be threatening, abusive or at very least insulting?" Mr Brocklehurst said.

"That is exactly the aim, or one of the aims, of what these defendants were seeking to achieve."

Mr Brocklehurst said the bragging email showed "a clear indication that it would provide a reaction, a reaction the Crown say is in response to something threatening, abusive and insulting".

Chad Williams-Allen, Dean Lloyd, both of Tantany Lane, West Bromwich, and Garry Jack, of Heathland Avenue, Birmingham and two other men who cannot be named are accused of putting up the stickers on the afternoon of July 9, 2016.

The trial continues. </s> A man who is alleged to belong to banned neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action has appeared in court charged with plotting the murder of a female Labour MP.

The 22-year-old defendant, who for legal reasons cannot be named, has been charged with preparing an act of terrorism. He allegedly bought a ‘Gladius Machete’ – a typical weapon wielded by Celtic tribes and Roman legions – with the intent to use it against MP Rosie Cooper.

The man, from Lancashire, is also accused of threatening to kill a female police officer and belonging to proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action. He appeared at London’s Old Bailey along with five other men, who also stand accused of belonging to the banned group.

READ MORE: Generation Identity activist was ‘also member of banned Nazi terrorist group’

In December 2016, National Action became the first far-right group to be banned under counterterrorism laws, following its stated support of the murderer Thomas Mair, who killed MP Jo Cox. Home Secretary Amber Rudd labeled the group “a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organization which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology.”

One of the defendants, Christopher Lythgoe, 31, of Greymist Avenue in Woolston, is accused of being the group’s regional leader and has also been charged with encouragement to commit murder. The remaining defendants have been named as Garron Helm, 24, of Seaforth, Matthew Hankinson, 23, from Newton-Le-Willows, Andrew Clarke, 23, of Paddington, and Michal Trubini, 35, from Warrington. They did not enter any plea during Monday’s preliminary hearing, and they have been remanded in custody as they await their trial on June 11.

It comes as official figures reveal the number of far-right individuals being referred to the government’s counterterrorism program has risen by more than a quarter between 2016-17. In the year to March 2017, 968 such individuals were referred to Prevent, an increase of 28 percent from the previous year.

They now account for 16 percent of all referrals as the number of cases relating to Islamist extremism remains the highest at 61 percent (3,704). That was down 26 percent from last year’s 4,997 referrals.

If you like this story, share it with a friend! </s> The leader of banned neo-Nazi group National Action has been jailed for eight years. Christopher Lythgoe, 32, was arrested by police investigating a plot to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper and a female police officer. It came just over a year after fellow Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in her Batley and Spen constituency by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair. The plan was foiled by whistleblower Robbie Mullen, who leaked details of a meeting at the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington to campaigner group Hope Not Hate in July last year. Jack Renshaw, 23, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, has pleaded guilty to preparing to engage in an act of terrorism in relation to the plot and threatening a police officer.

He has also been convicted of stirring up racial hatred in speeches in 2016, it can now be reported. Lythgoe, from Warrington, was charged with being a member of National Action after it was banned by the Home Secretary over its support for the murder of Cox. He was also accused of encouraging the murder of West Lancashire Labour MP Rosie Cooper by telling Renshaw not to “f*** it up” during the meeting on July 1. A jury deliberated for 20 hours at the Old Bailey to find him guilty of membership of National Action but not guilty of encouraging Renshaw.

Prominent member Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, was also found guilty of belonging to National Action and was jailed for six years. The jury acquitted Garron Helm, 24, of Seaforth, Merseyside, of the same charge. Justice Jay described National Action as having a “truly evil and dystopian vision” of waging a race war and that without Lythgoe’s obsessive determination to keep it going it would have “withered and died on the vine”. While numbers were too small to achieve its aims, there was a real risk it could have inspired acts of terror by its perverted ideology, the judge said. Justice Jay told Lythgoe: “You are a fully-fledged neo-Nazi complete with deep-seated racism and anti-Semitism. He added that Lythgoe “did nothing to stop or discourage” the plot to kill Cooper. He told Hankinson that he was also a prominent member who hated ethnic minorities and Jews, and advocated violence. Cooper sat in court as the men were jailed.

The MP said in a statement: “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. “To that end, I’d like to thank Robbie Mullen, whose information saved my life. “I’d also like to thank Lancashire and Merseyside Police and the counter-terrorism police who have supported me greatly, and who have kept me, my staff and the general public safe.” National Action is the first extreme right-wing group to be proscribed by the government since the Second World War. At its height, it had a membership of up to 100 young white men, drawn from universities. Dressed in black skull masks, they would gather for flash demonstrations, waving banners and making Nazi salutes. In December 2016, the group was banned by the then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd over its support for the murder of Cox. Jurors were told that warehouse worker Lythgoe had regarded the death of the 41-year-old MP as a “little victory”. He reacted to news of the ban by telling members that they would “just shed one skin for another”. The prosecution alleged they continued to meet in pubs and train together at a mixed martial arts gym in Warrington. Meanwhile, disillusioned Mullen, 25, began leaking information about National Action to campaign group Hope Not Hate. The defendants denied being members of National Action. Lythgoe’s lawyer, Crispin Aylett QC, suggested Mullen had implicated National Action because he was “in the pocket of Hope Not Hate” and it was what they wanted to hear. Renshaw was accused of being a member of National Action along with Lythgoe, Hankinson, Andrew Clarke, Michal Trubini and Garron Helm. The jury failed to reach verdicts on Renshaw, Clarke, 33, and Trubini, 35, from Warrington. In his sentencing, Justice Jay said that, under Lythgoe’s leadership, National Action meetings continued on a “modest” scale. They kept alive “an aspiration which 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 worldview would triumph”, he said. “The idea that there could be such a triumph without violence is arrant nonsense, despite the weasel words to the contrary.” The judge added: “Fortunately, and I can take this into account to some extent in the defendants’ favour, the truly evil and dystopian vision I am describing could never have been achieved through the activities of National Action, a very small group operating at the very periphery of far-right wing extremism. “The real risk to society inheres instead in the carrying out of isolated acts of terror inspired by the perverted ideology I have been describing.” </s> Two members of the banned neo-Nazi group National Action have been jailed.

Christopher Lythgoe, 32, who was arrested by police investigating a plot to murder the Labour MP Rosie Cooper and a female police officer, was jailed for eight years.

It came just over a year after fellow Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in her Batley and Spen constituency by the neo-Nazi Thomas Mair.

Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, was also found guilty of belonging to National Action and jailed for six years.

Lythgoe, from Warrington, was charged with being a member of National Action after it was banned by the home secretary over its support for the murder of Cox.

A jury deliberated for 20 hours at the Old Bailey to find him guilty of membership of National Action.

The jury acquitted Garron Helm, 24, of Seaforth, Merseyside, of being a member of the group.

Jack Renshaw, 23, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, has pleaded guilty to preparing to engage in an act of terrorism in relation to the plot and threatening a police officer. He has also been convicted of stirring up racial hatred in speeches in 2016, it can now be reported.

Lythgoe was found not guilty of encouraging Renshaw.

Mr Justice Jay described National Action as having a “truly evil and dystopian vision” of waging a race war. Without Lythgoe’s obsessive determination to keep it going it would have “withered and died on the vine”.

While numbers were too small to achieve its aims, there was a real risk it could have inspired acts of terror by its perverted ideology, the judge said.

He told Lythgoe: “You are a fully fledged neo-Nazi complete with deep-seated racism and antisemitism.

He added that Lythgoe “did nothing to stop or discourage” the plot to kill Cooper.

He told Hankinson he was also a prominent member who hated ethnic minorities and Jews, and advocated violence. Cooper sat in court as the men were jailed. </s> The leader of banned neo-Nazi group National Action has been jailed for eight years. Christopher Lythgoe, 32, was arrested by police investigating a plot to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper and a female police officer. It came just over a year after fellow Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in her Batley and Spen constituency by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair. The plan was foiled by a whistle-blower Robbie Mullen, who leaked details of a meeting at the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington to campaigner group Hope Not Hate in July last year.

Jack Renshaw, 23, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, has pleaded guilty to preparing to engage in an act of terrorism in relation to the plot and threatening a police officer. He has also been convicted of stirring up racial hatred in speeches in 2016, it can now be reported. Lythgoe, from Warrington, was charged with being a member of National Action after it was banned by the Home Secretary over its support for the murder of Mrs Cox. He was also accused of encouraging the murder of West Lancashire Labour MP Ms Cooper by telling Renshaw not to “f* it up” during the meeting on July 1. A jury deliberated for 20 hours at the Old Bailey to find him guilty of membership of National Action but not guilty of encouraging Renshaw.

Prominent member Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, was also found guilty of belonging to National Action and was jailed for six years. The jury acquitted Garron Helm, 24, of Seaforth, Merseyside, of the same charge. Mr Justice Jay described National Action as having a “truly evil and dystopian vision” of waging a race war. Without Lythgoe’s obsessive determination to keep it going it would have “withered and died on the vine”. While numbers were too small to achieve its aims, there was a real risk it could have inspired acts of terror by its perverted ideology, the judge said.
Four neo-Nazis are convicted of attempting to incite racial hatred at Aston University in England by carrying out a sticker recruitment campaign for National Action. A fifth is acquitted and sentencing alongside two other convicts is set for June 1. National Action has since been banned as a terror group.