29. The threat posed by the group related to its targeted recruitment of predominantly young men, whom it sought to radicalise with a National Socialist ideology.
- In 2014, National Action member Garron Helm was convicted of an antisemitic tweet relating to the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger, receiving a four-week custodial sentence. This appeared to bring a new impetus to the group, with the group receiving worldwide attention within the XRW scene. Following his conviction, Helm was declared a hero, a martyr and a political prisoner within the movement.
- The attention on National Action intensified in January 2015 with the attempted murder of a Sikh dentist by Zak Davies, from Mold in North Wales, who was found to be in possession of National Action material in his home.
- 2016 saw the group increase its overt recruitment attempts, with a proactive leafleting campaign in town centres. National Action members photographed themselves performing the Hitler salute at the site of Buchenwald concentration camp, and the group's website showed a move to a more regional set-up with monthly updates from regions being posted.
- In 2016, National Action-linked social media accounts declared their support for the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and made implied threats to other MPs. After this, a series of arrests targeted the leadership and members of the group and in December 2016, CTP put forward a national security case to the Home Office, leading to the proscription of National Action as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.
30. In laying an order for National Action's proscription on 12 December 2016, the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, described the group as "a racist, antisemitic and homophobic organisation which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology".[1] National Action was the first XRW organisation to be proscribed in the UK since the now-defunct British Union of Fascists in the 1940s. (The issue of proscription is addressed in more detail later in this Report.)
31. Following its proscription, National Action came under further pressure in 2017 with 25 members arrested, including 18 arrested under Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) offences. Among those arrested were individuals serving in the British Army. On 28 September 2017, an order was laid in Parliament adding National Socialist Anti-Capitalist Action (NS131) and Scottish Dawn to the existing National Action proscription as aliases of National Action.
- ↑ Home Office, 'National Action becomes first extreme right-wing group to be banned in UK', statement, 16 December 2016.
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