Leader of neo-nazis who trained for ‘race war’ is jailed
Far-right has no place in UK, says Home Secretary, after conviction of head of ‘truly evil’ extremist group
THE leader of the first extreme Rightwing group to be proscribed by the Government since the Second World War has been jailed for eight years, as a judge condemned his “truly evil and dystopian vision” of waging a race war.
Christopher Lythgoe, 32, led National Action, a neo-nazi organisation that was outlawed in December 2016 after it endorsed the murder of Jo Cox, the Labour MP. He was jailed for his membership of the group.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, said after sentencing: “The extreme farright has absolutely no place in Britain and I am glad these vile extremists are behind bars where they belong.
“National Action is a racist, antimuslim, anti-semitic and homophobic organisation that stirs up hatred and promotes violence. We proscribed it in 2016 when it crossed the line from extremism to terrorism. The Government is determined to tackle the scourge of the far-right head-on.”
Lythgoe was also accused of granting permission to Jack Renshaw, 23, to carry out an attempt to murder Rosie Cooper, a Labour MP, at a meeting in a Warrington pub on July 1 last year.
Renshaw admitted buying a 19-inch machete in preparation for the murder plot, but jurors cleared Lythgoe of granting him permission to carry out the attack on behalf of National Action.
The neo-nazi group was outlawed by Amber Rudd, then home secretary, for its promotion of the idea that Britain would inevitably see a “race war”.
Tweets associated with the group featured a picture of Thomas Mair, Ms Cox’s killer, with the message: “Don’t let this man’s sacrifice go in vain.”
As part of their activities, Lythgoe rented a gym close to his Warrington home where members practised boxing and martial arts, in order to “train for the race war”. Lythgoe was convicted of belonging to a proscribed organisation, along with Matthew Hankinson, 24, from Newton-le-willows, Merseyside – thought to be Lythgoe’s second-in-command – who called for “race traitors” to be hanged from lampposts. He was jailed for six years.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Jay described National Action as having a “truly evil and dystopian vision” of waging a race war. Without Lythgoe’s obsessive determination to keep it going, the group would have “withered and died on the vine”, he said. He told Lythgoe: “You are a fully fledged neo-nazi complete with concomitant, deep-seated racism and anti-semitism.
“Although you are not a charismatic individual, it was clearly through your effort and ability that the torch of National Action was kept burning after December 2016.”
The jury failed to reach verdicts on whether Renshaw, Michal Trubini, 25, and Andrew Clarke, 33, were members of the banned group. Garron Helm, 24, was cleared of belonging to the group.