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Banned Scotswood driver got friend to pick him up in order to flee scene of serious crash

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January 8, 2021
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Stuart Spence was severely injured after being involved in a collision and was being helped by members of the public before he jumped on the back of his friend’s bike and sped-off

A banned driver got his friend to pick him up from the scene of a serious accident in order to evade arrest.

Stuart Spence was severely injured after being involved in a collision with another vehicle and was being tended to by members of the public while the emergency services arrived.

But, knowing he was disqualified and rather than receive treatment, the 33-year-old phoned his friend and asked him to come and pick him up on his motorbike, a court heard.

Spence then fled the scene of the accident, on Dudley Lane, in Dudley, North Tyneside, but was found nearby after his concerned father shouted at him “I’d rather have a son in prison than a son dead” and rang for an ambulance.

The motor menace, who had two driving while disqualified offences on his record and a dangerous driving offence, was arrested after spending a number of days in hospital and appeared before magistrates in North Tyneside on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of driving while disqualified, leaving the scene of an accident and driving with no insurance.

Rebecca Slade, prosecuting, said Spence was behind the wheel of his Honda motorbike on July 2 last year when he was involved in a collision with another car.

“It was a substantial collision that wrote-off both vehicles,” Miss Slade continued. “The defendant was injured and members of the public treated him and rendered him first aid.

“The defendant then contacted an associate, who arrived at the scene on a motorbike and the defendant left the scene as a passenger without leaving details or waiting until the police arrived.”

The court heard that, since the crash, Spence, who has 71 offences on his record, had been given two separate suspended sentences, one for dangerous driving and one for burglary.

Kevin Smallcombe, mitigating, said Spence, of Muswell Hill, in Scotswood, Newcastle, was wanting to go to prison.

He added: “The charges don’t relate to the manner of his driving. He nearly lost his life. He was propelled head-first from his bike through the other vehicle’s window.

“He suffered very serious injuries. The words of his father are quite telling when he arrived at his house. He shouted, ‘Get an ambulance, get an ambulance, I would rather have a son in prison than a son dead’.”

Magistrates gave Spence a third suspended sentence, giving him 18 weeks, suspended for two years.

He was also banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £95 victim surcharge.

The Chronicle

A ‘far-right extremist’ who threatened to shoot one Sunderland MP and ‘hurt’ another has been jailed

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January 4, 2021
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A ‘far-right extremist’ who threatened to shoot and kill an MP during a terrifying campaign of ‘vigilante democracy’ because she supported a second Brexit referendum has been jailed.

Colin Brown, who had “expressed support” for the murder of Jo Cox, said he wanted to “make an example” of Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South.

The 50-year-old, who has a previous conviction for hurling racial abuse at council staff, also threatened he was going to “hurt” Julie Elliott, MP for Sunderland Central and said politicians needed “shooting”.

During the shocking threats he made in 2019, Brown warned he would drive a car into a mosque in a bid to target Muslims.

At Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Tim Gittins sentenced Brown to 18 months behind bars and said the jail term was a “deterrent to others who seek to poison democratic and political debate by threatening those who disagree with you”.

Judge Gittins told Brown some of his statements were “chilling” and told him: “It is clear you hold some views that are extreme and appalling in relation to race and religion.

“You took exception to the local MP’s stance on withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.

“You are perfectly entitled to hold a different view to anyone, as is she.

“What you are not entitled to do is threaten serious violence and death to that person holding a different view.”

Sunderland Echo

County Durham grandad branded ‘paedophile’ jailed for life after stabbing tormentor outside Aldi

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December 24, 2020
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Mark Pearson has been locked up for the attempted murder of a man, who repeatedly called him a “nonce”, outside Aldi in Spennymoor

Mark Pearson has been given a life sentence for attempted murder in Spennymoor (Image: Durham Constabulary)

A grandad who was falsely accused of being a paedophile has been given a life sentence for stabbing his tormentor.

Mark Pearson repeatedly stabbed Michael Inwood with a lock knife in a “frenzied” attack outside the Aldi store, in Spennymoor, in front of horrified shoppers.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mr Inwood suffered “life-changing” injuries after being stabbed eight times, including the neck, heart and lung, on the afternoon of September 9 last year.

The 47-year-old denied trying to kill Mr Inwood, but a jury convicted him of attempted murder and being in possession of an offensive weapon at trial.

Judge Paul Sloan QC said that the stabbing was “totally disproportionate” to the provocation and jailed Pearson for life with a minimum term of 12 years.

The court heard how Pearson snapped after two years of torture from Mr Inwood, who had repeatedly branded him a “nonce” and a “paedophile”.

However, Pearson is registered as a Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) 2 – meaning he is a classed as a violent offender, not a sex offender.

The pair had initially clashed earlier that day on the top deck of a bus heading towards Spennymoor when Mr Inwood called the defendant a “wrong ‘un”.

It spurred Pearson to follow Mr Inwood, who was leaving the bus, until he was stood next to the driver where he told him that he was a “dead man walking” and that he was going to “slit his throat”.

Pearson then drew his finger across his neck in a cutting action.

He got off the bus at the next stop, walking past the Aldi shop on Cambridge Street towards his home. However, he suddenly turned around and headed back towards the store – and in the direction of Mr Inwood.

The pair confronted each other and began shouting “come on then” before Pearson got out a lock knife from his pocket and hid it behind his back.

Newcastle Crown Court was told when Pearson got in range he swung his right arm and stabbed Mr Inwood in the neck. He then proceeded to stab the victim “up to 10 times”, including the heart and lung, until he fell to the floor.

The offence took place in broad daylight outside the busy supermarket with one horrified witness saying it was like “something out a horror movie”.

Pearson fled the scene and called 999 after stashing the lock knife in a bag of flour in his kitchen cupboard.

He told police he didn’t deliberately stab Mr Inwood and claimed it was self defence.

The court heard how Mr Inwood had suffered a brain injury with his speech, eyesight and mobility being severely impacted by the attack.

He is also now experiencing regular seizures, mood swings and has lost his independence.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, he said: “My life is a daily struggle. I can’t walk in a straight line. I can’t dress myself, my father is caring for me. I still have no access to my daughter and it is breaking my heart.”

Tony Davis, defending, said the attack arose as a result of two years of “utter frustration” that had “boiled over”.

Pearson, of no fixed abode, has a long list of previous convictions for violence, including in 1996 when he was jailed for eight years for attacking three police officers with a knife.

Judge Sloan said: “You had the knife with you really to use as a weapon as neccessary.

“It was a cowardly attack – holding the knife behind your back to then catch Mr Inwood by surprise.

“The taunts do not begin to justify your subsequent actions. Using the knife you gave up to 10 blows or so, causing eight wounds and leaving him for dead.

“The only sentence I can pass is one of life given the possible threat to the public.”

Northern Chronicle

Newcastle neo-Nazi extremist jailed for terror offences

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December 23, 2020
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A one-man neo-Nazi “propaganda machine” who encouraged racist mass murder has been jailed for a string of terror offences.

Luke Hunter, 23, from Newcastle, created extremist material and ran accounts on multiple online platforms.

Hunter, the son of a former counter-terrorism officer, was arrested in 2019 at his home address.

He was affiliated with a now-banned terrorist organisation called the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD).

Hunter, of High Callerton, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to four years and two months in prison.

Hiding behind an alias, he posted extremist material to several online platforms, including his own website, podcast, and a channel on the Telegram messaging application.

He used the accounts to promote racial hatred and murder, telling followers that the “eradication” of Jewish people was a “moral and racial duty”.

Death threat film

On the Telegram channel, which had more than 1,000 subscribers, he posted violent neo-Nazi imagery and glorified various terrorists, including the London nail bomber and the man who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The channel was affiliated with FKD, which was banned in the UK as a terrorist organisation earlier this year.

Hunter, who communicated with the group’s young leader, produced video propaganda for FKD, with one film including death threats to the chief constable of the West Midlands. The force had charged an FKD member with planning a terrorist attack.

One of Hunter’s podcast guests was Alex Davies, co-founder of the banned extreme right-wing group National Action.

But Hunter was not only active online and travelled to Glasgow to deliver a speech at a far-right conference.

In October last year detectives searching the house where he lived with his mother found a large hunting knife and a life-size dummy covered in stab marks, prosecutors said.

‘Promoted killing techniques’

A preliminary court hearing heard Hunter’s father, with whom he did not live at the time of his arrest, spent years as a Metropolitan Police counter terrorism officer before transferring to a civilian role.

Hunter pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of encouraging terrorism and three of disseminating terrorist publications.

The prosecution argued that Hunter, who has been diagnosed with autism, was “deeply radicalised” and that his activity “smacks of a propaganda machine which has been designed to function over a number of platforms”.

Hunter admitted four counts of encouraging terrorism and three of disseminating terrorist publications

Det Ch Supt Martin Snowden, head of counter terrorism policing north east, said that Hunter’s online activity “glorified terrorism, promoted killing techniques and encouraged the killing of Jews, non-white races and homosexuals.”

He added: “Luke Hunter represents a threat to our society, not simply because of his mindset, but because of the considerable lengths he was prepared to go to in order to recruit and enable others in support of his cause”.

BBC News

Neo-Nazi who planned terror attacks given new jail sentence for child sex offences

By
December 23, 2020
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Boy, 17, convicted of five sexual assaults against a younger girl

One of the sketches made by the teenager
(Counter Terrorism Policing North East)

A teenage neo-Nazi who was jailed for planning terror attacks has been given a new sentence for child sex offences.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of five counts of sexually touching a girl under the age of 13.

He was given an 18-month detention and training order for the assaults at Leeds Youth Court on Wednesday.

District Judge Richard Kitson said the term could be served concurrently to his previous sentence of six years and eight months for preparing acts of terrorism.

“The offences [against the girl] are wholly different to those that have resulted in your current sentence and, in theory, consecutive sentences would be justified,” he told the defendant. “I think that would be inappropriate in view of the extended sentence which you are currently serving.”

The defendant is due to turn 18 this month, meaning the ban on identifying him would expire automatically, but his lawyers have applied to extend the reporting restriction.

At a separate hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Nicholas Dean QC granted an extension until a hearing where the arguments can be considered in full on 11 January.

The boy had detailed plans to firebomb synagogues and other buildings in the Durham area as part of what he believed was an upcoming “race war”.

Before being arrested, he wrote that his upcoming 12 weeks of study leave would be “showtime”.

He was convicted of six terror offences, including preparing acts of terrorism, disseminating terrorist publications and possessing material for terrorist purposes.

A court heard that he had been “tipped off” by a fellow extremist on the Fascist Forge forum that a police raid was imminent and deleted evidence as a result, but police could not corroborate that claim.

When he was arrested in March 2019, police found a piece of paper in his pocket containing a message in code that said: “Killing is probably easier than your paranoid mind thinks. You’re just not used to it.”

The boy was carrying a drawing of a fellow school pupil being beheaded, because he believed he was gay and deserved “judgement”.

After reading Norway shooter Anders Breivik’s manifesto, he had written his own version entitled: “Storm 88: A manual for practical sensible guerrilla warfare against the k**e [offensive term for a Jewish person] system in Durham city area, sieg hiel.”

It called for lone-wolf terror attacks to fight against a supposed “genocide” of white people and listed proposed attack targets in Durham, including schools, public transport and council buildings.

Writing on the Fascist Forge forum, the teenager claimed a race war was “inevitable”, and called himself an “accelerationist”.

Prosecutors said they had not identified a “particular act or acts” of terrorism that the boy was going to commit, but that he had been preparing for some kind of atrocity since October 2017.

He denied all offences, claiming he had adopted the terrorist persona for “shock value” and did not want to carry out attacks, but was convicted unanimously of all charges in November 2019.

The court heard that the boy had been an “adherent of a right-wing ideology” since the age of 13, and that his views became more extreme as he immersed himself in fascist websites and forums.

By 2017, he was describing himself as a neo-Nazi and operated a since-deleted Twitter account with a handle referring to a British fascist leader.

His racist and homophobic tweets drew the attention of police but when he was interviewed in September that year, he claimed they were posted “for a laugh”.

The teenager initially agreed to take part in the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme but later stopped engaging.

The boy claimed he was not an extremist, but started another Twitter account and continued communicating with contacts, while accessing a “large quantity of extreme right-wing literature” online and in hard copy.

The court heard he had steeped himself in antisemitic conspiracy theories and ranted about Jewish governors at his school, Jewish MPs and the press.

In August 2018, he described himself as a “radical national socialist” and follower of Adolf Hitler, saying he had read Mein Kampf and had a photo of the Nazi leader on his phone.

Prosecutors said the boy obtained and shared terror manuals on making explosives and firearms on the Ironmarch and Fascist Forge online forums, but also drew on jihadi propaganda.

He had searched for Isis execution videos and used al-Qaeda literature, as well as a jihadi guide on making deadly poisons, including ricin.

By November 2018, he had progressed to extreme occult neo-Nazism and voiced support for satanism.

The teenager declared his support for the “siege” ideology, which was started by an American neo-Nazi and advocates the use of terror attacks to trigger a race war.

“Democracy is very much a dead system; political violence therefore, can only help us,” he wrote. “The white race is being silently genocided, the west is dying.”

Sentencing him for the terror offences earlier this year, the previous Recorder of Manchester, Judge David Stockdale QC, found the teenager’s subsequently diagnosed autism spectrum disorder played a part in his offending.

He described the youth as “highly intelligent, widely read, quick-thinking and articulate” but told him that it was “a matter of infinite regret that you pursued at such a young age a twisted and – many would say – a sick ideological path”.

The Independent

Nazi-obsessed racist had cans of CS spray at his home

By
December 20, 2020
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He was jailed earlier this year for putting Adolf Hitler stickers on lampposts

David Holmes was congratulated by one Far Right movement for ‘a good job in Heanor

This racist who was previously jailed for peppering lamp posts and bus stops with Neo Nazi stickers, has now been sent back to prison after police found cans of CS gas at his home.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard how officers uncovered the banned spray when they went to the home of David Holmes, in Heanor, on June 12.

The heavily-tattooed 63-year-old, who has an infatuation with the Far Right pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of a noxious liquid.

The magistrates who jailed him for 26 weeks told him “it has to be custody because these are very serious matters”.

In August, Holmes was jailed for a year after he pleaded guilty to a number of charges including racially aggravated harassment, racially-aggravated criminal damage and witness intimidation.

On that occasion Derby Crown Court heard how he placed the offensive stickers around Ilkeston, Heanor, Mapperley, in Shipley Park and on the Nutbrook Trail during 2019.

Siward James-Moore, prosecuting on that occasion said police received a number of complaints about them including one from the head teacher who saw one placed on a lamppost outside his primary school.

Mr James-Moore said: “Some said ‘deport illegal immigrants’ and other showed an emoji of Adolf Hitler with a hand written note which read ‘Muslim scum out’ and ‘Hitler was right’.

“More of the Hitler stickers were found around Heanor and Langley Mill and were forensically analysed and linked to this defendant through a fingerprint.

“Another sticker was found on a bus stop and showed a white toddler with a shaved head and the number 88 on it which is a link to a far right ideology linked to Hitler’s birthday and the letters HH for ‘Hiel Hitler’.”

Mr James-Moore said Holmes was arrested at his home address in Ashforth Avenue, Marlpool, Heanor and a number of items were seized.

He said this included letters from a far right movement the defendant is a member of congratulating him for “a nice job in Heanor” and to “keep up the good work”.

In August the hearing was told how Holmes also displayed a Klux Klan figurine from his window and put bottles of his “potent” home made wine on neighbour’s doorsteps.

On them were written more racist slogans and one celebrating Klaus Barbie, a Gestapo officer known as the Butcher of Lyon and who tortured and killed Jews during the Second World War.

Mr James-Moore said: “In interview, the defendant was upfront and frank telling police he had placed more stickers around Shipley Park and on the Nutbrook Trail.

“He said his views were the normal views of people living in the area and were not offensive.

“He said he had issues with extensive immigration and what he called the ‘dilution of Aryan blood’.”

Jailing him on that occasion, Recorder Stuart Sprawson said: “You have deeply-held entrenched views about other people of different ethnicity to you.

“One of the people to complain was the head teacher of a primary school concerned about the impact this would have on the pupils and totally against the views being taught there.”

Derby Telegraph

Tommy Robinson banned from all football matches for 4 years after punching England fan

By
December 15, 2020
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EXCLUSIVE The far right extremist, 38, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was filmed punching a Three Lions fan to the ground in Portugal

Far right extremist Tommy Robinson has been banned from all football matches – including England – at home and abroad for four years.

The thug, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 38, was filmed punching a Three Lions fan to the ground in Portugal during the Nations League finals.

That footage, obtained by the Mirror, was used by Bedfordshire Police to bring a civil case against Robinson this week.

It resulted in an order banning him from “all regulated football matches, home and abroad” for four years – including England at the next two Euro tournaments and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Dep Chief Constable Mark Roberts, National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Policing Lead, said: “This is a really positive result.”

Robinson was seen thumping a fan before England’s 3-1 defeat to Holland in Guimaraes on June 6, 2019.

The former English Defence League leader approached the England fan, who told him: “You do not represent me.”

A witness said: “Robinson throws a punch. This is from a man trying to become an MEP.” Robinson said the fan had been rowdy and abusive.

Robinson had posted a message before the game saying: “No football banning order here, mate.”

The remark was believed to refer to a banning order Bedfordshire Police applied for over a flag reading “F*** ISIS” at Euro 2016. They said it was inciting hatred against Muslims but he successfully challenged it.

The force worked with the UK Football Policing Unit to obtain the order banning him from football matches.

He was also ordered to pay £3,600 in costs.

A court spokeswoman confirmed the order was granted for “causing or contributing to violence”.

In 2011, Robinson was convicted of hooliganism for leading 100 Luton Town fans in a clash with Newport County fans.

He lost his £5,000 deposit in the European election last year after getting just 2.2% of the vote in the North West.

After the incident in Portugal, he said: “I was with my wife. If people get physical, I am not going to wait for them to attack me… the man needs to keep his views to himself.”

Daily Mirror

Burglar who raided Newcastle shop caught after leaving blood at the scene of the crime

By
December 6, 2020
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Stuart Spence, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary at the Londis store at Kenton Park Shopping Centre

A bungling burglar who raided a Kenton store was caught after his blood was found at the scene.

Stuart Spence broke into the Londis store at Kenton Park Shopping Centre in the early hours of April 6 and stole cash and cigarettes to the value of £1,200

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the 33-year-old forced his way in by breaking bars and a window at the rear of the premises.

Paul Cross, prosecuting, said a cash machine was attacked, money and cigarettes were taken while the shop’s CCTV hard drive was also stolen.

A resident of an upstairs flat saw a man leaving the scene on a bike at around 3.46am and phoned the police.

But he inadvertently left traces of his blood at the scene on the cash machine and a nearby fridge which were later found by investigating officers.

The swabs were sent off for forensic analysis and were later linked back to Spence, who was arrested by police.

He made no reply during an interview but later pleaded guilty to one count of burglary.

The court heard how the shop owner was left in fear of another attack on his premises which had cost him around £3,000 – including £1,720 of his personal savings to secure the store.

Spence, who has 32 past convictions for 71 offences, was on bail at the time of the offence for dangerous driving which he was later sentenced to a nine-month jail term suspended for two years in July.

David Comb, defending, said: “He appears to have had a near death experience in July in a car accident.

“He has reconciled with a former girlfriend and he has indicated his life has achieved a greater stability than it has in the past 12 months.”

Judge Edward Bindloss spared Spence, of Muswell Hill, Newcastle, jail by giving him a prison sentence of nine months, suspended for 18 months.

However, he warned him that he was on his last chance.

He said: “You are at risk of a lot of custodial time. The key thing is to stay out of trouble.

“If you breach this order you face 18 months on top of whatever else.”

Chronicle Live

James Goddard given restraining order after calling Independent journalist ‘vile scum of the earth’ in court confrontation

By
November 27, 2020
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Far-right activist handed fine and told not to contact correspondent following March 2019 incident

Far-right activist James Goddard has been handed a fine and given a restraining order after abusing an Independent journalist outside a packed courtroom.

Goddard was found guilty on Thursday at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court of a public order offence relating to a confrontation with home affairs and security correspondent Lizzie Dearden.

Goddard, who was a prominent figure in pro-Brexit ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations, called Ms Dearden “scum of the earth” and “vile” at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in March 2019.

Ms Dearden was at the court to cover the trial of Goddard, 31, who had been charged with harrassing pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry and calling her a “Nazi”.

Goddard recognised Ms Dearden, who has reported extensively on the far right, and acted toward her in an “aggressive manner”, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court was told.

In finding him guilty, district judge Andrew Sweet said Goddard had been “threatening and abusive” towards Ms Dearden.

Giving evidence, Ms Dearden said she arrived outside the courtroom where Goddard’s hearing was being held but at that moment the defendant “came out walking extremely fast”.

The journalist told the court she “took a step back” but Goddard “seemed to recognise” her and “started shouting… ‘that’s Lizzie Dearden from The Independent’.”

She added: “He started walking towards me quite fast. I remember hearing the words ‘vile’ and ‘scum of the earth’. My immediate reaction was to get into the court to get away from him.”

Ms Dearden said she was unable to get into the courtroom because staff told her it was full.

Asked by prosecutor Leo Seelig how she felt, Ms Dearden said: “I was frightened when he came towards me, he is quite a big guy and he looked extremely angry.”

Carly-May Kavanagh, who was with Ms Dearden at the time of the confrontation, described Goddard as “aggressive and confrontational”.

She said: “He was raising his voice, he was shouting about Lizzie but he also stepped towards us, and it was at that point I walked off because I was worried it could get physical.”

District judge Andrew Sweet stopped the proceedings on a number of occasions to tell Goddard, from Greater Manchester, to stop interrupting from the dock.

Taking the stand, the defendant, who was accompanied by several supporters in the public gallery, told the court there were “hundreds” of people at his March 2019 trial and he felt “very anxious” because of a large police and press presence.

Goddard said the exchange with Ms Dearden happened as he was coming out of the court, when he “laughed and said ‘ha you’re not coming in, you scumbag’.” He denied referring to Ms Dearden as “vile scum of the earth”.

Goddard denied his words or behaviour were threatening or abusive. He added: “If you can’t be called a scumbag maybe you are in the wrong profession, maybe you shouldn’t be a journalist, maybe you should go work in a warehouse.”

The Independent

Far-right extremist jailed for terror and explosives offences

By
November 25, 2020
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Filip Golon Bednarczyk claimed he wanted to make fireworks but judge said explanation was ‘fanciful’

A mocking image of Filip Golon Bednarczyk stood outside a Luton church that was posted on his Facebook page

A far-right extremist has been jailed for possessing explosives and terrorist documents.

Filip Golon Bednarczyk, 26, denied planning an attack or attempting to make a bomb and claimed he was acting on “curiosity borne out of boredom”.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, he said he had downloaded numerous terrorist manuals and collected chemicals and components because he wanted to make fireworks.

But a judge said Bednarczyk’s explanations did not “bear scrutiny” and that he was interested in building bombs.

“I find your admitted right-wing sympathies were the motivation for your interest in explosives,” Judge Anthony Leonard QC told him.

“The idea you drew a circular diagram with nails and a detonator because you wanted to create a firework is fanciful … if the instructions had been followed it would have resulted in a working IED.”

Bednarczyk had admitted possessing an explosive substance under suspicious circumstances between May and December last year.

He also pleaded guilty to seven charges of possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism in relation to various titles about homemade explosives and devices.

The judge sentenced him to four years in prison with another year on licence, and handed Bednarczyk a 15-year notification order in which he has to report his personal details to the police.

When entering his guilty pleas, Bednarczyk insisted he did not want to harm anyone and had not attempted to construct a bomb.

He admitted “right-wing sympathies” but denied being a neo-Nazi and said his online research had not focused on particular groups.

An analysis of his electronic devices revealed an interest in firearms, knives and killings as well as extreme right-wing views.

Filip Golon Bednarczyk cutting up a Britain First membership card in a 2017 YouTube video

The Old Bailey heard that he had a copy of the Christchurch attacker’s manifesto, which claimed white people are being “replaced”, and shared memes supporting the terror attack that left 51 people dead.

Bednarczyk had also searched the internet for Nazis, Hitler, the Polish Defence League — an offshoot of the English Defence League — and Britain First.

The Polish national, from Luton, had targeted Muslims, Jews and the gay community in hateful online posts.

In a Facebook post from July 2019, he shared photos of British police officers supporting Pride events and called them “pathetic”, writing: “Death of European culture and values”.

In 2015, Bednarczyk “liked” a meme showing Mecca being destroyed by nuclear weapons, and called for the burqa to be banned.

Another post suggested that “liberal blood will flow in the streets” for the tolerance of Muslims, transgender people, homosexuality, abortion and feminism.

The previous year, he shared an antisemitic meme which originated on 4chan showing world leaders wearing Jewish skullcaps.

On his YouTube channel, which has more than 4,000 subscribers, Bednarczyk uploaded a video of himself cutting up a Britain First membership card in 2017.

He was arrested by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit on 11 December.

A search of his bedsit led to the discovery of handwritten notes, electrical component parts and a 2kg bag of sulphur powder inside a wardrobe.

Printed bomb-making instructions were found alongside a blank-firing pistol, a soldering iron and USB stick containing documents and images relating to explosives.

Expert analysis of the material was that it included “viable instructions for a range of explosive materials including low explosives, primary high explosives and secondary high explosives” and “viable instructions for a number of types of IED”, prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds told the court.

Bednarczyk said he bought potassium nitrate and sulphur over the internet but later tried to return them because he “lost interest” in it.

He said he did not open the sulphur and told the court: “Out of boredom I was thinking about experimenting with the chemicals for a little excitement in the garden.”

The defendant claimed he had forgotten about the items in his wardrobe and had accidentally downloaded terrorist manuals because he was taking documents off the internet “in bulk”.

Judge Leonard said it was not a “coincidence” that Bednarczyk had kept electronic parts that could have been used to make a detonator alongside the ingredients for gunpowder.

The judge said he was previously warned against keeping such material in March 2018, when police confiscated chemicals discovered at Bednarczyk’s home after his partner’s suicide.

Around that time, the defendant confided in a friend that he was concerned about what police would discover if they searched his computer, because he had been looking at how to make a bomb.

The court heard that Bednarczyk, who has a seven-year-old son in Poland, may have exaggerated symptoms of poor mental health during a psychiatric assessment and did not suffer from a condition that affected his culpability.

Defence barrister Beth O’Reilly told the court there was “no evidence of a terrorist connection” in the case, adding: “He describes his interest [in explosives] as curiosity, that interest wasn’t acted on.”

The Independent