A London rookie police officer was convicted in court of belonging to a banned neo-Nazi terror group.
Pc Ben Hannam, 22, was found guilty in a London courtroom of being a member and recruiter of illegal far right extremist group, National Action (NA), which venerates Hitler and Nazism.
He was also found guilty of lying on his police application and related forms he filled out upon joining the London Metropolitan Police and of having in his possession terrorism material containing instructions for knife combat and building explosive devices.
Judge Anthony Leonard lifted a press ban on the case after Hannam admitted in a separate trial to possession of child pornography.
Leonard was released on bail but told by Leonard that he faced a jail sentence.
Hannam had been a probationary officer for the Metropolitan Police for almost two years before his identity was discovered on a database of the users of Iron March, a neo-Nazi online forum.
Hannam joined NA in March 2016. He told the courtroom that he was “desperate to impress” an older NA member who gave him free stickers and badges. His membership in the group ended before he began working as a police officer. Once his name was flagged, U.K. counter-terrorism officers “acted swiftly” to bring charges.
The Evening Standard reported that Commander Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit, said that the case was unique because Hannam lied on his job application and his extreme views were unknown at the top.
“Once we identified his involvement with that organization we took immediately steps to arrest him and put him before the court,” he said. He added that there was no evidence that Hannam used his position to “further his extreme views.”
NA is an extreme neo-Nazi group which was described during the court hearing as basing their beliefs on “Aryan purity” and the hatred of non-white groups, especially Jews. Members worship Hitler as a “divine figure” and celebrate violent acts, including war and genocide.
Last year, when investigators searched Hannam’s bedroom, they found neo-Nazi posters, writings about his NA membership and NA badges and business cards.
Hannam is on suspension from his duties.
U.K. media reported that prior to his arrest, he’d had a non-eventful career as a cop, with the exception of being given a warning for “gross misconduct” in 2018 for using his brother’s bus pass.
In Hannam’s first post on Iron March, he mentioned being “completely swayed” by NA. He then attempted to recruit more members for the neo-Nazi group. He wrote, it is “always good for more people to join, means we can arrange more stuff which is just more fun for everybody!”