Britain has suffered two attacks carried out by extreme right-wing (XRW) actors in as many years. Darren Osbourne’s attack on Muslims outside the Finsbury Park Mosque was preceded by the June 2016 murder of Jo Cox MP by Thomas Mair. The attacks signalled an intensification of the threat posed by XRW actors. This was recognised by David Anderson QC, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in December 2017, who proposed an increased role for MI5 in countering the threat.[1] In his valedictory speech in February, Mark Rowley, the former head of British counter-terror policing, also warned of the growth of XRW terrorist activity, and revealed that four XRW plots were foiled in 2017.[2] He specifically highlighted the threat posed by the neo-Nazi organisation National Action (NA), which was responsible for at least one of those plots. Rowley’s successor, Neil Basu, called NA the first XRW organisation to represent a national security threat, and reiterated Anderson’s view that MI5 should work with police in addressing the problem.[3] The growth of XRW activity, in part fuelled by increased Islamist terrorism, has exacerbated the already acute terror threat facing the United Kingdom.
NA was established in 2013 by several young XRW activists, some of whom are reportedly former National Front and British National Party supporters. The group’s leadership was comparatively well-educated, utilised social media extensively, and sought to fill the vacuum left by the decline of the British National Party. NA achieved national prominence in 2016 when social media accounts affiliated with the group disseminated content condoning and glorifying Jo Cox’s murder and other violence.[4] In December 2016, NA became the first XRW organisation to be proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000; a Home Office assessment found that NA had been “concerned in terrorism”, and specifically, that its online activities were unlawful. The proscription made it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, NA.[5] Following the proscription, an estimated 40-50 members continued their activities clandestinely, while front organisations using pseudonyms continued to operate.[6] In September 2017, the proscription was extended to cover NA aliases ‘Scottish Dawn’ and ‘NS131’. Earlier that month, two serving British soldiers and another young man were the first people to be arrested and charged for their membership of NA.[7] A fortnight later, a further eleven individuals were arrested, of which six were charged with terror offences. This included Christopher Lythgoe, allegedly a senior member of NA, and an unnamed 22-year-old who is accused of preparing acts of terrorism; the purchase of a machete with which he planned to murder Rosie Cooper MP. Lythgoe is accused of encouraging the 22-year-old to commit murder.[8] In January 2018, a further six people were arrested and charged with being members of NA, bringing the number of alleged NA members standing or awaiting trial to 15.[9]
The accused consist largely of young English men from Oxfordshire, Merseyside and East Anglia and neighbouring counties. The two soldiers are believed to be the only military personnel charged in connection with NA thus far. Nonetheless, their arrests have led to public scrutiny of military vetting procedures.[10] The presence of soldiers within NA considerably increases the group’s latent capability given their access to and knowledge of firearms and explosives. While there is no indication that either of the men were in possession of military weapons, the case of Ciaran Maxwell, a Royal Marine who constructed pipe bombs for Dissident Republican terrorists using stolen military explosives, illustrates the threat posed by extremist Service personnel.[11] However, the plot to murder Rosie Cooper MP indicates that the group has been content mounting low-complexity attacks. The targeting of a female Labour Party MP appears to be in direct emulation of Thomas Mair’s murder of Jo Cox, however, other left-wing political figures and ethnic and sexual minorities are also likely prospective targets for the group. Mirroring Islamist methodologies, it is highly likely that NA and other XRW actors would seek to cause death and injury to individuals and groups of symbolic value, rather than attempting to cause large-scale damage to property. Nevertheless, David Anderson QC revealed the intent of XRW actors to mount more complex attacks using firearms and explosives.[12] While XRW actors are unlikely to mount indiscriminate attacks against civilians, targeted attacks could still result in significant casualties, and the use of explosives would likely lead to property damage.
The proscription of NA and subsequent arrests of its members suggest that the authorities consider it the most threatening manifestation of XRW extremism. In his February speech, Rowley intimated that NA’s organisation, network building and attack planning represented a departure from the activities of earlier XRW actors. He also highlighted the group’s efforts to establish partnerships with overseas XRW organisations. Available reporting indicates that NA members had been in contact with recruiters from the Azov Battalion, a fascist Ukrainian paramilitary fighting in Donbass. At least two NA members are alleged to have travelled to Ukraine.[13] Contact with overseas XRW groups could facilitate the transfer of weapons and more advanced terrorist tradecraft to NA. However, at least one of the two is on police bail, and it is unlikely that the limited contact between NA and foreign organisations has thus far significantly increased the group’s capability.
Despite the recent arrests, NA or successor organisations will probably endure in the near-term; socio-economic and cultural conditions, the collapse of Parliamentary fascism, and continued Islamist activity will continue to provide fertile recruiting conditions for XRW groups. Therefore, further plots are likely. While many will be disrupted by MI5 and police, some may succeed. It is possible that further recruitment of Service personnel will significantly augment NA’s capability, thereby increasing the potential severity of attacks. The same is true of greater engagement with foreign paramilitaries. Equally, both successful and disrupted plots by NA and other XRW actors targeting the Islamic community would be likely to intensify the radicalisation of British Muslims, indirectly exacerbating the overall terror threat and increasing the likely frequency of attacks. Thus, the emergence of organised XRW terrorism further complicates an already challenging threat landscape, widening the breadth of possible targets, dividing police and intelligence resources, and hampering preventative counter-extremism work.
[1] “Attacks in London and Manchester, March-June 2017: Independent Assessment of MI5 and Police Internal Reviews Unclassified”, David Anderson QC, December 2017
[2] “Extremism and Terrorism: The need for a whole society response”, The Colin Cramphorn Memorial Lecture by Mark Rowley, 26 February 2018
[3] “A View from the CT Foxhole: Neil Basu, Senior National Coordinator for Counterterrorism Policing in the United Kingdom”, Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2018
[4] “State of Hate 2018, Far Right Terrorism on the Rise”, Hope Not Hate, Issue 35, January-February 2018
[5] “National Action becomes first extreme right-wing group to be banned in UK”, www.gov.uk, 16 December 2016
[6] Hope Not Hate, 2018
[7] “Neo-Nazi charges: UK soldiers appear in court”, BBC News, 12 September 2017
[8] “Alleged neo-Nazi appears in court charged with plotting to kill Labour MP”, The Guardian, 27 October 2017
[9] “National Action: Six alleged members of neo-Nazi group arrested on suspicion of terror offences”, Independent, 3 January 2018
[10] “We must act fast to stop far-right groups targeting military personnel”, The Guardian, 6 September 2017
[11] “Royal Marine who supplied arms for Irish republican attacks jailed for 18 months”, The Guardian, 31 July 2017
[12] Anderson, 2018
[13] Hope Not Hate, 2018