Images from inside a police officer’s bedroom show a Nazi propaganda poster and stickers praising National Action.
Pc Ben Hannam, 22, has been found guilty of belonging to banned right-wing extremist group National Action (NA) following a trial at the Old Bailey.
He is the first serving police officer to have been found guilty of such an offence.
During his trial, jurors were shown how he appeared in a propaganda video for the group.
He was caught after an anti-fascist hacker found details of members of a Neo-Nazi internet forum, Iron March.
When he was arrested in his bedroom in March 2020, police found it full of extremist material.
Officers found Neo-Nazi posters, notes detailing his membership of NA, as well as NA badges and business cards.
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He had stored on a USB stick two documents said to be useful to a terrorist.
Mass murderer Anders Breivik’s manifesto contained guidance on making radiological, chemical and biological weapons, and improvised explosive devices while the second document detailed how to carry out a fatal knife attack.
A jury had deliberated for more than 32 hours to find Hannam guilty today.
As well as being a member of NA, they found him guilty of lying on his application and vetting forms to join the Metropolitan Police and having terror documents detailing knife combat and making explosive devices.
Judge Anthony Leonard QC lifted a ban on reporting the case after Hannam admitted possessing an indecent image of a child, which was to have been the subject of a separate trial.
The ideology of NA was described in court as based on ‘Aryan purity’ and hatred of non-white groups, particularly Jews.
Members celebrated Adolf Hitler as a ‘divine figure’ and glorified violence, including war and genocide, the court heard.
In his defence, Hannam, who is autistic, denied he had ever been a member of NA before or after it was banned.
He told jurors he had been attracted to fascism aged 16 because of its bold artwork and contacted NA after seeing propaganda online.
Hannam told jurors: ‘I was under the impression this was some kind of youth network.
‘I have never been stickering with NA nor have I done banner drops. I stuck to social activities.
‘Most of the time was going to the pub and going for walks. Other times camping or going boxing.’
He denied reading all of Breivik’s manifesto, saying he found it ‘boring’.
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Hannam, of Edmonton, north London, is currently suspended from duty.
Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: ‘He would never have been able to join had we known then of his interest in the extreme right wing and his previous membership of National Action.
‘Once we identified his involvement with that organisation we took immediate steps to arrest him and put him before the court.’
He stressed there was no evidence Hannam abused his position ‘to further his extremist views’.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMS8wNC8wMS9pbnNpZGUtYmVkcm9vbS1vZi1wb2xpY2Utb2ZmaWNlci1ndWlsdHktb2Ytam9pbmluZy1uZW8tbmF6aS1oYXRlLWdyb3VwLTE0MzQ0NzEwL9IBc2h0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMS8wNC8wMS9pbnNpZGUtYmVkcm9vbS1vZi1wb2xpY2Utb2ZmaWNlci1ndWlsdHktb2Ytam9pbmluZy1uZW8tbmF6aS1oYXRlLWdyb3VwLTE0MzQ0NzEwL2FtcC8?oc=5
2021-04-01 18:47:00Z
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