Neo-Nazi leader who praised Jo Cox murder as ‘little victory’ is jailed
‘Kept the torch burning’
THE leader of a neo-Nazi group banned for its support for the murder of MP Jo Cox was jailed for eight years yesterday.
Christopher Lythgoe, 32, is the first member of National Action to be imprisoned since the farRight group was proscribed 19 months ago.
He was arrested by police probing a plot to kill another Labour MP, Rosie Cooper. Lythgoe, who saw the murder of Mrs Cox as a ‘little victory’, had denied continuing to run National Action after it was banned.
But the Old Bailey was told that under his leadership the group continued to meet in pubs and would train at his martial arts gym in his home town of Warrington.
Following 20 hours of deliberations, Lythgoe was found guilty of belonging to a proscribed organisation.
He was cleared however of encouraging Jack Renshaw to murder Miss Cooper.
At the start of the trial, Renshaw, who lived in Miss Cooper’s West Lancashire constituency, admitted preparing to engage in an act of terrorism and threatening a police officer.
However, the jury failed to reach a verdict on whether he was a member of National Action at the time. The 23-year-old former university student faces a retrial.
It can now be revealed that he was jailed for three years in April for stirring up racial hatred in speeches he gave at rallies in Blackpool and Yorkshire. Sentencing Lythgoe, Mr Justice Lay told the warehouse worker: ‘You are a fully- fledged neo- Nazi replete with concomitant deepseated, entrenched racism and anti-Semitism.
‘Although you are not a charismatic individual, it was largely through your effort and industry that the torch of National Action was kept burning.
‘Without that industry and determination, the corollaries I suppose of your somewhat obsessive personality, I think that National Action would have withered on the vine fairly quickly.’
Matthew Hankinson, 24, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, who organised National Action Murdered: Jo Cox MP marches, was found guilty of membership of the group and jailed for six years.
The jury acquitted Garron Helm, from Seaforth, Merseyside, of the same charge. The 24-yearold former art student has served four weeks in jail for sending threatening and anti-Semitic tweets to Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger. On the day of Mrs Cox’s murder, in June 2016, the Twitter feed of National Action’s north- east branch posted the comment: ‘Only 649 MPs to go.’
Next to an image of Mrs Cox’s killer, Thomas Mair, they wrote: ‘Vote Leave. Don’t let this man’s sacrifice go in vain. Jo Cox would have filled Yorkshire with more subhumans.’
At its height the group had a membership of around 100 young white men, drawn mainly from universities.
Dressed in black skull masks, they would gather for flash demonstrations, waving banners and making Nazi salutes.
Detective Superintendent Will Chatterton, head of investigations for counter-terrorism policing in the North West, said: ‘These individuals were not only intent on broadcasting their vile views and hate speech but were prepared to do so at whatever cost, with no regard for the people who they were openly wanting to harm.
‘Today’s result has enabled a spotlight to be shone on some of the sickening activities of National Action.
‘People who support extremism of any kind that threatens the safety of others can expect to be investigated by counter terrorism officers.
‘They have no place in society and we will continue in our fight against those who want to bring a reign of terror to the UK.’
Two other men, Andrew Clarke, 33, and Michal Trubini, 35, were also accused of belonging to National Action.
They face a retrial after the jury failed to reach verdicts.