Officer charged with being member of far-right group

A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with being a member of a banned far-right group. Benjamin Hannam, 21, of north London, has been charged with five offences, including belonging to National Action, a proscribed organisation, between 17 December 2016 and 1 January 2018.

He has also been charged with two counts of false representation by stating he was not a member of “an organisation similar to the BNP [British National Party]” on an application form and vetting form to join the force, “intending to make gain for himself”, police said in a statement.

The serving probationary officer also faces charges of possession of an indecent photograph of a child and possession of a prohibited image of a child.

He has been suspended from duty and bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 6 August.

In 2016, National Action, a neo-Nazi group, became the first far-right organisation to be banned by the British government since the Second World War.

The government has since proscribed spinoff groups Scottish Dawn, NS131, Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) and System Resistance Network (SRN).

Det Supt Ella Marriott said: “These are extremely serious charges for anyone to face, and I fully understand and appreciate how deeply concerning it might be for the public, and particularly local communities here in north London, that the charges are against a serving police officer.

“As I said at the time of the officer’s arrest in March this year, integrity is fundamental to policing and any officer suspected of displaying extremist behaviours or associations should rightly expect to be investigated.

“The Met, and indeed the public, does not accept this behaviour and we will not hesitate to take the necessary and robust action to deal with it. Following the charges today, I am aware how vital it is that the prosecution runs its course and the importance of not undermining.”