National Action trial – as it happened: Neo-Nazi terrorists wanted to wage 'white jihad' and claimed 'Hitler was right', court hears
A group of alleged neo-Nazi terrorists wanted to wage what they called "white jihad" and claimed "Hitler was right", a court has heard.
Six defendants on trial at the Old Bailey are accused of continuing preparations for a race war as National Action members after the group was banned by the government in 2016.
Former member Robbie Mullen, who later turned informant, told the court they wanted to achieve a “white Britain by any means necessary...war, anything".
Asked what National Action was against, Mr Mullen said: “Basically everyone...Jews, blacks, Asians, every non-white race.”
Defendant Jack Renshaw has admitted plotting to murder a Labour MP with a machete but denies being a member of National Action at the time.
Jurors heard the 23-year-old planned to kill Rosie Cooper before taking hostages in a pub and targeting a female police officer.
Co-defendants Garron Helm, 24, of Seaforth, Merseyside, Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, Andrew Clarke, 33, Christopher Lythgoe, 32, and Michal Trubini, 35, all of Warrington, also plead not guilty to membership of a proscribed group.
Prosecutors previously told the Old Bailey the group became the north-west faction of National Action after it was banned for its antisemitic, homophobic and violent ideology in December 2016.
On Wednesday the jury was shown footage of demonstrations before the ban in locations including Newcastle and Liverpool, where National Action members made antisemitic speeches and performed Nazi salutes, while carrying banners reading "Cleanse Britain of Parasites" and "Hitler was right".
A police testified that a man filmed giving a speech calling on white men to "stand up and set our people free" was Mr Hankinson.
"Blood must be shed, the blood of traitors, the blood of our enemies," he said.
The Old Bailey heard the group underwent combat training at their gym in Warrington and at woodland camps.
As the proscription approached, Mr Lythgoe allegedly wrote members an encrypted email saying they were merely "shedding one skin for another".
Mr Mullen told the jury the "name was gone but the people would still meet up. The purpose was still the same, the politics was still the same".
The informant, who was at a meeting where Renshaw revealed his plan, said he was in earnest and the defendants took him seriously.
Mr Lythgoe allegedly suggested he target Amber Rudd, then the home secretary, instead of his local MP and Mr Hankinson suggested a synagogue.
But Mr Mullen said Renshaw dismissed both and told how he planned to get himself killed by police and leave a "white jihad" video detailing his reasons.
The trial continues.
