Man revealed plot to kill MP in pub
AN ALLEGED National Action supporter who plotted to kill the MP for West Lancashire said he hatched the plan “to send a message to the state that if you beat a dog long enough it bites”.
Jack Renshaw, 23, has admitted buying a 19in Gladius knife to kill MP Rosie Cooper and a police officer he had a grudge against.
But the Skelmersdale man denies membership of neo-Nazi group National Action after it was banned in December 2016 for supporting the murder of MP Jo Cox.
Jurors have heard he feared going to prison for making hate speeches and had settled on “suicide by cop” if he was charged.
The plot was foiled after Renshaw revealed it on July 1 last year at the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington to alleged members of the far-right organisation, including alleged leader Christopher Lythgoe.
On the opening day of his trial, Renshaw pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism as well as making a threat to kill Det Con Victoria Henderson.
But Renshaw insisted he was not seeking permission from National Action or looking for its approval, claiming that he was so drunk he ended up revealing the plot accidentally.
Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, Renshaw said that he continued to hang out with former National Action members after it was banned, but said their branch of the organisation “ceased to exist”.
He said: “When you hold extreme political views the friends you used to have don’t remain friends, so you tend to make friends in your new circle.”
Renshaw said they tended to pass the time discussing their political views even though National Action was now banned.
He said he had been drinking since the mid-morning and was “nine out of 10” on a scale of drunkenness by the time he reached the Friar Penketh on July 1 2017.
“I can’t remember much after arriving there. It was never my intention to tell them about the plan, I was just drunk and ranting,” he said.
He added: “I was in a poor mental state and I probably would have spoken to anyone who was there about it.”
Wayne Jackson, for Renshaw, said: “Were you going to do this thing on behalf of anybody?”
He replied: “It was on behalf of myself.”
The court heard that Renshaw has admitted plotting to attack Det Con Henderson because she was investigating him in relation to possible child grooming offences.
When asked why he had selected Ms Cooper as a target, he replied: “I wanted to send a message to the state that if you beat a dog long enough it bites – she just happened to be my local MP.”
Mr Jackson asked: “When you were explaining in the pub that night what your intentions were, were you getting permission from anybody to do what you were going to do?
“More specifically, were you getting permission from Christopher Lythgoe?” “No,” Renshaw replied. He said that he had not finalised his plan on how he would kill Ms Cooper or Det Con Henderson, or even where he would launch the attack, only knowing that he planned to murder both women on the same day.
Referring to Ms Cooper, he said: “The plan was to turn up at one of her social events – she gave a lot of talks at colleges and in different places in her constituency. She was quite an active MP in her constituency.”
He said he had a vague plan about killing Det Con Henderson in a coffee shop but then claimed the plans were just “fantasy”.
When asked why he pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism, he said: “I had bought a machete, I carried out searches on how to use a machete, I tried to find out where Rosie Cooper and Victoria Henderson lived.
“I might never have carried the attack out but I did take steps.”
Renshaw stated that he still held all the views he had held before National Action was banned, claiming British democracy was controlled by a Jewish conspiracy.
“I’m anti-democracy because what we live in now is not a democracy. It’s a false democracy.
“If you say we have freedom of speech but you’re not allowed to say this or you’re not allowed to say that, it’s not freedom of speech.”
Fellow alleged member Garron Helm, 24, told police he was with the group that night. He told police in an interview on September 28, 2017 that Renshaw was “frustrated and aggravated” when he revealed the plot.
Helm said they tried taking Renshaw to a club to try and find him a girl as he was a virgin, but Renshaw told the girl he was attempting to chat up: “I’m a terrorist.”
Renshaw, of Skelmersdale, denies being a member of National Action.
Helm, of Seaforth, Merseyside, is also on trial along with Lythgoe, 32, Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, Clarke, 33, and Michal Trubini, 35, both of Warrington.
They deny membership of the far-right group after it was banned.
Lythgoe also denies giving his permission for Renshaw to kill Ms Cooper on behalf of National Action.