A man has become the first alleged neo-Nazi to be placed under special government powers for monitoring and controlling suspected terrorists, it has emerged.

The man, who is in his 20s, can only be referred to publicly as LXB.

Last year, he was subjected to terrorism prevention measures which place strict limits on what a person can do.

He appeared in court on Friday after admitting he had breached the measures.

LXB has previously been suspected by the authorities of having the potential to carry out a terrorist attack.

Last week he pleaded guilty to two breaches of the measures by having a video camera and memory card without prior approval from the Home Office.

During a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, the defendant appeared by video link from prison and was remanded in custody. Sentencing was adjourned until 8 August.

Kate Wilkinson, prosecuting, said LXB had “serious previous convictions”.

Terrorism prevention and investigation measures, known as TPIMs, allow the authorities to monitor and control people considered to be terrorists – but who are not facing criminal charges.

MI5 advises the government about who should be subjected to TPIMs.

Subjects face measures such as wearing an electronic tag, being relocated to different parts of the UK, bans on internet use, and limits on who they can meet and where they can go.

Everyone subjected to a TPIM is given legal anonymity and referred to using a cipher. If the measures are breached, the subject can be prosecuted and jailed.

The press and public only ever learn details of individual TPIM subjects when they end up in court for breaches, or for High Court reviews of the measures.

The BBC has previously investigated the use of TPIMs, including how the government was using them to limit activities of the banned al-Muhajiroun, a group which has been linked to multiple attacks and plots in the UK and abroad.

LXB is the first suspected right-wing extremist to have been subjected to a TPIM since the powers were created in 2011.

He is the 29th person to be placed under a TPIM. All the previous 28 subjects were suspected Islamist extremists.

The measures are controversial, with the independent reviewer for terrorism legislation – Jonathan Hall KC – previously saying they were increasingly being used on people with mental health issues.

BBC News

A WHITE supremacist has been jailed for attacking a black inmate simply because of the colour of his skin.

Alexander Gray, formerly of Chudleigh, was described and a ‘through and through racist’ after a judge heard that he has a history of neo-Nazi violence that includes running his own online television channel in which he ended his videos with Hitler salutes.

He was in Exeter prison and being escorted to an adjudication hearing in April last year when he broke free and punched a black prisoner in the face, breaking his jaw.

Warders dragged him away as he repeatedly shouted the N word at the other inmate, who had been playing table tennis before falling victim to the unprovoked assault.

The adjudication was one of four disciplinary hearings, two of which involved attacking black inmates, one for telling a chaplain that white people ought to rule the world, and one for drawing a swastika in his cell.

At the time of the attack he was serving a sentence for assaulting two brothers in Chudleigh because one of them had a black girlfriend.

Gray, aged 31, previously of Fore Street, Chudleigh, but now of HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire, admitted racially aggravated assault causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years and eight months with a three year extended licence by Judge Robert Linford at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘You were in Exeter Prison following your last bit of racism and were let out of your cell to attend an adjudication. For no reason whatsoever other than the colour of his skin, you ran at a man and delivered a savage punch which sent him to the floor and broke his jaw.

‘As you were detained, you shouted racist comments.

‘You are a through and through racist. That is what you are. You are a violent and extremely dangerous one at that. You have many convictions for offences of violence.

‘I have no doubt whatsoever you fulfil the criteria of a dangerous offender and pose a significant risk to members of the public.

‘I have no doubt whatsoever that the racial element was the predominant motivation for you to launch this unnecessary and savage attack.’

Miss Kelly Scrivener, prosecuting, said the attack happened on April 26 last year and left the victim needing an operation to fix a plate in his jaw.

She said Gray has convictions for violence going back to his teens but his racist offending stared in 2019 when he abused police as they arrested for attacking his own father.

He was jailed in 2021 for distributing material that was designed to stir up racial hatred. He set up a Telegram channel named Whiteness in the West Country that proposed turning the South West into a whites-only zone.

He was jailed again later the same year for a racially aggravated attack on two brothers and again in 2022 for racial harassment of a black inmate who he threatened to kill while using the N word.

He has also had four adverse adjudications while in prison including for making monkey noises at black prisoners, two assaults, trying to preach white supremacy to the prison chaplain and drawing a swastika in his cell.

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Gray grew up in Bovey Tracey but became a racist as a result of spending so much of his life in jail.

He said: ‘Since he was 17, by my calculation he has spent ten years in custody. The court will find his attitudes distasteful in the extreme but it was an attitude generated in prison, not in Bovey Tracey.’

At the time of the attack he was serving a sentence for assaulting two brothers in Chudleigh because one of them had a black girlfriend.

Gray, aged 31, previously of Fore Street, Chudleigh, but now of HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire, admitted racially aggravated assault causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years and eight months with a three year extended licence by Judge Robert Linford at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘You were in Exeter Prison following your last bit of racism and were let out of your cell to attend an adjudication. For no reason whatsoever other than the colour of his skin, you ran at a man and delivered a savage punch which sent him to the floor and broke his jaw.

‘As you were detained, you shouted racist comments.

‘You are a through and through racist. That is what you are. You are a violent and extremely dangerous one at that. You have many convictions for offences of violence.

‘I have no doubt whatsoever you fulfil the criteria of a dangerous offender and pose a significant risk to members of the public.

‘I have no doubt whatsoever that the racial element was the predominant motivation for you to launch this unnecessary and savage attack.’

Miss Kelly Scrivener, prosecuting, said the attack happened on April 26 last year and left the victim needing an operation to fix a plate in his jaw.

She said Gray has convictions for violence going back to his teens but his racist offending stared in 2019 when he abused police as they arrested for attacking his own father.

He was jailed in 2021 for distributing material that was designed to stir up racial hatred. He set up a Telegram channel named Whiteness in the West Country that proposed turning the South West into a whites-only zone.

She said Gray has convictions for violence going back to his teens but his racist offending stared in 2019 when he abused police as they arrested for attacking his own father.

He was jailed in 2021 for distributing material that was designed to stir up racial hatred. He set up a Telegram channel named Whiteness in the West Country that proposed turning the South West into a whites-only zone.

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Gray grew up in Bovey Tracey but became a racist as a result of spending so much of his life in jail.

He said: ‘Since he was 17, by my calculation he has spent ten years in custody. The court will find his attitudes distasteful in the extreme but it was an attitude generated in prison, not in Bovey Tracey.’

Tavistock Today

David Pringle was part of a large group of counter-protesters at Grey’s Monument in Newcastle city centre in June 2020

A Northumberland business owner has been jailed for taking part in violent disorder during a Black Lives Matter counter protest.

David Pringle was part of a large group of counter-protesters that gathered at Grey’s Monument in Newcastle city centre in 2020 when he was seen “squaring-up” to police and grappling with an officer. The 54-year-old was heard calling police “scum” as he “goaded” police dogs and their handlers throughout the day.

Pringle was one of many counter protesters – which included the North East Frontline Patriots and the Hells Angels – that were involved in large scale disorder on June 13 2020 which resulted in a number of officers, police dogs and horses sustaining injuries. A teenage girl was also taken to hospital with a head injury after she was struck by a bottle.

On Friday, Pringle, of Front Street Court, Guide Post, Choppington, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for violent disorder. He had pleaded guilty to the offence.

The court was told that Pringle had turned up to take part in a counter protest of a Black Lives Matter march, which was taking place at Grey’s Monument in the city centre. At first the demonstration was peaceful, but it soon descended into violence, with objects being thrown at police.

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said: “From around 12.27pm, this defendant was at the Monument and had circulated an image of himself with his fists clenched near a group of young males. The defendant was consuming alcohol throughout the incident and was quite intoxicated.

“On CCTV footage he can be seen at the front of the counter protest and ignoring police requests to move. From 4.19pm he was stood with members of the Hells Angels engaging in goading dog handlers and service dogs. He was involved in attempting to provoke violence. He chose to remain among police horses and was staggering around and was threatening mounted officers.”

Pringle – a father-of-two – was heard telling one officer to “f*** off” before calling another “scum” and was seen among people who were fighting with police. At one point, others pulled Pringle back in an effort to “curtail his behaviour”. Mr Perks continued: “The defendant was squaring up to police officers in a boxing stance.”

Pringle then moved to the area outside of Waterstones and was part of a group that were “barging” into police and was seen grappling with one officer and grabbing a baton. Due to his aggressive behaviour, officers physically restrained and arrested him before taking him to Wallsend police station. The court heard Pringle had eight previous convictions for eight offences and remained silent in interview.

Jeremy Barton, defending, said: “Having watched himself on CCTV he isn’t impressed by his own behaviour, it’s ugly. He accepts fully the case against him and what he’s done. But whilst he was a part of that violent disorder as a whole, there was behaviour this defendant didn’t take part in, nor would he approve with.”

Mr Barton said Pringle is a “lover of animals” and said he attended the counter protest as he believed there was a “threat” to the Monument. He added that as a young man, Pringle was in the Armed Forces for 12 months before being medically discharged and went on to become the owner of a construction business.

Judge Edward Bindloss jailed Pringle for 30 months.

Chronical Live

A convicted Leeds terrorist robbed a shop armed with a hammer shortly after being released from a lengthy prison.

Jamie Anisko, also known as Jamie Snow, was deemed a “dangerous individual” after threatening the terrified convenience store owner before stealing cash, cigarettes and alcohol.

The 35-year-old was previously jailed in 2009 for armed robbery, but while behind bars plotted with another inmate to post explosives to an Asian solicitors firm. He was given another sentence of more than six years.

Despite being diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, he was eventually released in 2020, and targeted the Westbourne Convenience Store on Bradford Road in Otley at around 7pm on June 30 that year. Entering the shop wearing face coverings, he and an accomplice demanded the lone worker hand over money.

Anisko was brandishing a hammer, with the other male carrying a 9” knife. With little money in the till, Anisko grabbed a handful of coins amounting to £30, before they filled a bag full of cigarettes and whisky, prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore told Leeds Crown Court this week.

During the raid, Anisko’s mask slipped from his face and he was recognised by police from the shop’s CCTV. The accomplice received a 28-month jail sentence for his part. Anisko was returned to prison on licence to await sentencing.

Admitting the robbery, he was also found guilty of assaulting a prison officer while being held in HMP Nottingham, by headbutting and punching him in April 2020, shortly before his release.

Anisko has 31 convictions for 54 offences, most notably the robbery in 2009 in which he used a gun to threaten a victim. He and an inmate from HMP Full Sutton in York then plotted to blow up mosques and kill the imam – the prison’s Muslim leader – during a campaign of terror in 2014 fuelled by racial hatred.

They sent a letter to the solicitors firm which was intercepted by prison staff. It contained incendiary devices they assembled in their cells, made from crushed match heads and foil.

The court was told of further disturbing plans Anisko had drawn up after being returned to prison for the Otley robbery, including an intention up to kill and dismember a prison guard and even kill former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

Mitigating, Nicholas Hammond said his personality disorder had meant Anisko, formerly of Pottertown, spent several years in the high-security psychiatric hospital in Rampton, in Nottinghamshire. He said he had a difficult upbringing in life, but conceded it was not an excuse.

Judge Christopher Batty said of the Otley robbery: “He (the shopkeeper) was doing his work, he was entitled to do it safely. You are a dangerous individual. Your personality disorder has prominent features and it causes changeable moods and instability.

“You can’t be treated for your personality disorder because you have been resistant to that in the past. You do present a significant risk to causing serious harm to members of the public.”

He was given an overall sentence of 10 years and nine months, made up of five years and nine months behind bars, and another five years’ extended licence period.

Yorkshire Evening Post

His previous conviction is here

Richard Osborne will have a chance to reflect on his sickening views as he serves a 46-month prison sentence

A far-right extremist from Solihull has been jailed for publishing material intended to stir up racial hate. Richard Osborne will have a chance to reflect on his sickening views as he serves a 46-month prison sentence.

The Marston Green social-media addict admitted posting sick material targeting Jewish people and other groups 130 times. He used the Russian VK social media platform to broadcast his vile beliefs.

He was also convicted of possessing a cosh in his car and a shotgun at his home. Judge Paul Farrer KC painted a picture of the twisted mind of a man described as holding “neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and homophobic views which all right minded people will view as abhorrent”.

Osborne – who had between 833 and 1041 friends on the website – posted about his hatred of Jews. He described himself as a “white power racist” and said: “We are hardened, fanatical Nazis. We, as white and English, are physically and mentally superior. We are superior racists.”

Other examples of his despicable comments – most of which are too offensive to publish – included references to “dark-skinned enemies”. In response to a comment by one user, he said: ” Protect your children protect your race. Shoot first ask questions later. One white life is worth more than a billion black lives.”

Osborne had a police investigation into him closed without charge in November 2021. That came after he returned a local council newsletter upon which he had written comments expressing extreme racist views.

He was arrested again on January 12, 2023. Various devices were seized including an encrypted hard drive. In one bizarre exchange uncovered by police , Osborne had claimed to be a mechanic. He posted about a fanciful encounter between himself and a black family that never happened.

On June 12 this year, Judge Farrer said: “On September 14 2022 you posted a message describing how you had dealt with a white woman who came to your vehicle repair business with her vandalised car. She came with her black partner and their two children.

“I do not propose to set out your message in full but you referred to her partner as a ‘grinning gormless ape’ and spoke of her children in a racially offensive way. Your counsel points out on your behalf that in the real world you never owned a vehicle repair business and that this publication and others demonstrably involve a significant element of fantasy.

“I accept that submission but at the heart of your offending was an intention to incite hatred in others. Whether you drew upon real or imaginary facts in pursuit of that objective is of limited importance.

“In short, your posts were intended to incite racial hatred and often encouraged others to acts of serious violence. They reached a like-minded audience who were undoubtedly influenced by them.”

Judge Farrer said Osborne’s beliefs “crossed a line” – even in a society that is “tolerant of those who hold and express extreme views”. He told how the 53-year-old had been impacted by the pandemic.

Judge Farrer went on: “[Your counsel] informs the court that in 2020 during the Covid lockdown you became withdrawn and detached from friends and family. You began to drink heavily and you were drawn into an online world populated by extremists and conspiracy theorists.

“I accept this background and treat it as providing some mitigation but you are a mature individual and you are ultimately responsible for your own actions.”

Det Supt Anastasia Miller, from West Midlands Police, said: “By pleading guilty Osborne admitted he held extreme far-right views and through our investigation we were able to provide clear evidence he supported white supremacists as well as a proscribed far-right group banned by the government.

“Someone who holds extreme views against those that don’t look like him or hold the same views is not welcome in our society. Today’s sentence should be a clear message to those who intend to spread hate and terror.”

Birmingham Mail

A PATRIOTIC Alternative member has been jailed for distributing the manifestos of terrorists online.

Kristofer Thomas Kearney, 38, who used the name Charlie Big Potatoes on Telegram, pleaded guilty in March to two offences of disseminating terrorist publications.

He is believed to be the first member of Patriotic Alternative to be convicted of terrorist offences.

The offences relate to two Telegram posts on January 23 and March 8 2021 which disseminated dozens of documents encouraging extreme right-wing terror attacks, including the manifestos of Christchurch mosque killer Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway.

Two other far-right extremist manifestos related to Texas Walmart mass killer Patrick Crusius and John Earnest, who shot people at a California synagogue in 2019.

In 2021, he posted a numbered list and links to 89 extreme right-wing documents.

The court heard material on Kearney’s profile depicted violence or encouraged violence in the battle against “white genocide”.

Kearney is originally from Liverpool but was based in Alicante before he was extradited from Spain to face charges last September.

Judge Richard Marks KC jailed Kearney for four years and eight months concurrent on each count with an extended licence period of two years after finding the defendant legally dangerous.

A notification requirement for a period of 10 years was also ordered.

The judge determined at an earlier trial of issue that Kearney shared the posts both recklessly and with the intention of encouraging terrorism, accepting that he may not have familiarised himself with all of the postings but rejecting the claim that he was completely ignorant of any material involving violence.

He told Kearney at the Old Bailey on Friday: “In this country, we have lived for many years in a multicultural society which most people regard as being enriching.

“Right-thinking members of any society regard tolerance, kindness, understanding and inclusivity to everyone regardless of their background as being of absolutely fundamental importance.

“Much of the material that you posted entirely negates those values and is extreme, vile, inflammatory, divisive and deeply offensive.”

He added: “Whilst I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that your entire agenda and intention was not throughout to encourage acts of terrorism, I conclude from the nature, extent and volume of the material posted that such was your fanaticism in achieving your state of objectives that you were prepared and intended at least in part for that to happen if that is what it took.”

The court heard previously that Kearney told fellow Telegram users Adolf Hitler “showed people the way” and “did nothing wrong” as he shared posts encouraging violence against Jews and Muslims.

He also shared a “Punish a Muslim Day” letter, in which readers were encouraged to “butcher a Muslim” for 500 points, remove a woman’s headscarf for 25 points and bomb a mosque for 1000 points, it has been said.

The defendant, who was part of the Army’s parachute regiment for two years, regularly featured on right-wing podcasts called Patriotic Talk and The Absolute State of Britain, and had set up a channel called Fascist Fitness to hand out exercise and fitness tips.

The self-described British fascist said during his evidence at the trial of issue that he was “horrified” to have shared videos which encouraged violence.

He described some of the phrases used on his channel as a “rallying cry” for people to get involved in community groups and denied they were aimed at promoting violence.

He denied that his intention was to prompt anyone who saw the material he posted to then go on to seriously injure people or damage property.

Kearney told the court the point of setting up his channel was to “spread the right-wing and the fascist world view”.

It is believed he was “head of fitness” at Patriotic Alternative and regularly shared posts from its accounts such as White Lives Matter banners.

An image of Kearney with a National Action flag was also previously shown to the court, which the defendant said was taken at an anti-grooming gang rally in Darlington.

He is said to have been an active member of the neo-Nazi group until a week before it was banned for glorifying the murder of MP Jo Cox.

The National

Darren Hurrel, 21, turned up outside the school in his attempt to hand out leaflets before the pupils decided to confront him.

A man who assaulted a teenage boy during an incident outside a secondary school has been fined £290.

Darren Hurrel, 21, turned up outside Larkhall leisure centre in Lanarkshire to hand out leaflets and was surrounded by a group of pupils. Footage, which went viral online, showed pupils from nearby Larkhall Academy launching plastic bottles and cans towards Hurrel as anger grew.

He lashed out at a 14-year-old boy who had sprayed liquid on him and knocked him to the ground before leaving the scene. A depute head teacher at the school had to usher Hurrel inside for his own safety while police were phoned.

Hurrel, of Rigside, Lanarkshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted the assault in October last year. Sheriff Michael Higgins fined the first offender and warned him he now had a criminal record.

Allegations unemployed Hurrel had punched and repeatedly kicked the schoolboy on his body were deleted from the charge by prosecutors. The court heard Hurrel had been dishing out leaflets in Larkhall town centre and had returned to his car when the pupils surrounded him at lunchtime.

Depute fiscal Daisy Bentley said: “The complainer was at Larkhall leisure centre on his way back to school having been for his lunch. He noticed a large group of school pupils surrounding the accused who was handing out leaflets.

“Members of the group were throwing things towards the accused and he swung out towards the complainer and he has then thrown him to the ground. The accused began to walk towards Larkhall train station and a large group of pupils followed after him.”

Andy Iles, defending, said: “It does appear that the complainer in this case sprays a bottle of something and a fluid strikes Mr Hurrel. A large group of pupils aged between 12 and 15 were all throwing things at him and he is hit by a can and has tomato sauce thrown at him.

“He then reacts and lunges towards the boy, he swings at him and as a result the boy is knocked to the ground but it is quite clear there was a large degree of provocation. Mr Hurrel was eventually taken into the school by the depute head for his own safety.”

The lawyer added: “He had been handing out leaflets in Larkhall town centre and was in the process of returning to his car which coincided with the school lunch break and he began handing out leaflets to pupils and animosity grew.”

Sheriff Higgins said: “This is a very much reduced charge that you have pled guilty to. I will deal with this by way of monetary penalty but you do now have a conviction for an assault charge and if you engage in similar behaviour then I have no doubt it will not go in your favour.”

Hurrel was allowed to pay the fine at a rate of £20 per month.

Daily Record

A man has admitted wearing a football shirt at Wembley Stadium which made an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster.

James White, 33, from Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The judge at Willesden Magistrates’ Court said it was “abhorrent”.

The court heard he had worn a shirt with 97 and the words “Not Enough” on the back at the FA Cup Final on 3 June.

District Judge Mark Jabbitt said: “It is hard to imagine a more… offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.”

The judge added the shirt White wore bore a “hateful expression” – calling it an “abhorrent message” – and that the impact of his actions are “profound and distressing”.

Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.

‘Completely unacceptable’

In 2016, inquests concluded the fans had been unlawfully killed.

After White was arrested at Wembley Stadium, the court heard he was cautioned and told police: “You haven’t even asked me what the T-shirt means.

“My grandad died aged 97 and didn’t have enough kids.”

The prosecution said White had “many” previous convictions, dating most recently to 2021, but none were football-related.

Police received a series of emails from people who saw an image of the shirt online.

The court heard how members of the public wrote they were “absolutely devastated” and “disgusted” by it.

Diane Lynn, vice chair of Hillsborough Survivor Supporters Alliance, said it was “very personal” for people who were at Hillsborough that day and that survivors suffered with “guilt”.

“How dare he make us feel like this,” she said.

The defence told the court White “deeply regrets” his actions and accepted he “hurt people very deeply”.

White, who laughed in the dock, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £400 and £85 in costs.

He has also been banned from all regulated football games in the UK for four years, while Manchester United said it had issued an indefinite club ban to White.

A Manchester United spokesman said: “The club’s ban goes further with the immediately imposed three-year suspension being extended to an indefinite ban from all club activities including all matches at Old Trafford.

“Mockery of Hillsborough and other football tragedies is completely unacceptable and the club will continue to support firm action to eradicate it from the game.”

The FA said in a statement it “welcomed” the sentence, adding White’s actions were “reprehensible”, and “abuse that references Hillsborough or any football tragedy will not be tolerated at Wembley Stadium”.

“We hope that today’s ruling sends a strong message that action will be taken against any perpetrators who behave in this way.”

Douglas Mackay from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “The CPS continues to work closely with the football authorities including the Premier League and the Football Association, police, clubs, and charities to look to stamp out all of the appalling and horrendous incidents of tragedy chanting and gesturing.

“We are sending a clear message that we call on so-called fans to stop this vile behaviour of a minority which has a terrible impact on the bereaved and communities.”

Manchester City won the FA Cup beating local rivals Manchester United 2-1.

BBC News

Ben Styles, of Leamington Spa, was reportedly fascinated by the perpetrator of the New Zealand mosque attack

A supporter of extreme right-wing ideology will be sentenced this month after admitting making weapons and collecting terrorism material, police say. Ben Styles, of Plymouth Place in Leamington Spa, was arrested in April 2021 by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court heard recently that the 25-year-old had acquired various tools, including a lathe and a drill press, and was reportedly making a gun at the time detectives arrested and searched his home. He was acquitted of engaging in conduct in preparation for a terrorist act at court earlier today (June 15).

Prosecutor Matthew Brooks detailed how Styles had travelled to New Zealand shortly before the mosque attack in Christchurch in 2019 but he became fascinated by the attacker, allegedly collecting his manifesto and a video of the massacre according to West Midlands Police. The force added that at an earlier legal hearing in November 2021, Styles admitted three counts of collecting information contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (right wing material and instructional firearms documents).

He also admitted one count of possessing a prohibited weapon. Detective Superintendent Anastasia Miller, from CTP West Midlands CTU, said: “Styles’ was making a submachine gun and ammunition, he also knowingly downloaded and possessed extremely distressing and disturbing imagery.

“We will continue to protect local communities by working with partners and the CPS to pursue and prosecute all those who show support for terrorism. We work tirelessly to counter terrorism.

“Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety and security of the people who live, work and visit the West Midlands area.”

Assistant Chief Constable David Gardner, counter terrorism lead for Warwickshire Police, said: “The evidence in this case was extremely concerning and clearly demonstrated Styles has an obsession with far right wing ideologies. It is vital we all remain vigilant and people report any concerns they have to police.”

Styles will be sentenced on Friday, June 23.

Birmingham Mail

Harry Vaughan had developed an interest in right-wing extremism, Satanism, the occult and violence from the age of 14, the Old Bailey heard.

Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Harry Vaughan who was spared jail in 2020 after admitting 14 terrorism offences and two child abuse image offences.
(PA Media)

Harry Vaughan, from Twickenham, south-west London, was aged 18 when he admitting 14 terror offences and two of possessing indecent images of children.

The Old Bailey had heard he developed an interest in right wing extremism, Satanism, the occult, and violence after disappearing “down a rabbit hole of the internet” from the age of 14.

Sentencing him in November 2020, Mr Justice Sweeney acknowledged the A-star student’s parents were committed to helping him “change for the better”.

The senior judge handed Vaughan a two-year suspended sentence along with a 60-day rehabilitation order and a terrorist notification order for 10 years.

On Wednesday, 21-year-old Vaughan, who now goes by the name of Harry Blake, returned to the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to making an indecent photograph of a child in September 2022.

He had also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic videos, three counts of failing to comply with a Serious Crime Prevention Order and three breaches of his notification order.

The breaches which began just a month after his original sentence related to failing to tell authorities about an email address and details of crypocurrentcy accounts.

Judge Sarah Munro KC adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded the defendant in custody.

In 2020, prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds had said the defendant was “considered a focused and able” student at Tiffin Grammar in Kingston-upon-Thames, south-west London.

He was arrested at his family home on June 19 2019 in a counter-terror probe into Fascist Forge – an online forum used by extreme, right-wing militants.

In a March 2018 application to join the System Resistance Network – an alias of the banned neo-Nazi group National Action – he wrote: “I could handle myself in a fight. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to further the cause.”

Police found 4,200 images and 302 files, including an extreme, right-wing terrorist book and documents relating to Satanism, neo-Nazism and antisemitism, on his computer and other devices.

Files included graphics encouraging acts of terrorism in the name of the proscribed terror organisation Sonnenkrieg Division, a guide to killing people, and bomb-making manuals.

Mr Pawson-Pounds said Vaughan had also looked on Google maps for the locations of schools near his home and searched for explosives and plastic pipes.

He said: “The material demonstrated unequivocally that Vaughan had an entrenched extreme right-wing and racist mindset, as well as an interest in explosives, firearms and violence more generally.

“He also demonstrated an interest in the occult and Satanism.”

The court was also told that the defendant’s “loving” parents had been left with a “sense of bewilderment” at his arrest of their son, who went on to be diagnosed with high-functioning autism.

Defence barrister Naeem Mian KC had said: “He is somebody who has disappeared down a rabbit hole, a rabbit hole of the internet, and he is in a very, very dark place, or certainly was. And he was there, it would appear, from the age of about 14.”

Vaughan had originally pleaded guilty to one count of encouragement of terrorism, one count of disseminating a terrorist publication, 12 counts of possessing a document containing information of a kind likely to be of use to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism, and two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.
The Independent