Alex Davies convicted of membership of neo-Nazi terrorist group, National Action
Alex Davies, 27, has been convicted today of membership of the neo-Nazi terrorist group, National Action.
Mr Davies, of Swansea, was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of being a member of the proscribed group, which he founded in 2013, between 17th December 2016 and 27th September 2017.
National Action was proscribed by the British Government following repeated calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.
Following the ban, Mr Davies was involved in the development of a “continuity” organisation, designed to continue the work of the banned group and initially called the Southern Activist Network, later renamed NS131. That group was also banned as an alias of National Action nine months after the proscription of its predecessor organisation.
During the trial, Mr Davies explained his ideology, saying that “If we were to take power, our aim is to have an overwhelmingly white Britain as it more or less has been for centuries. It’s only in the past 50/60/70 years we have had mass immigration. It would be to return to the status quo of before the Second World War.” He was asked if he would repatriate Jewish families with British heritage dating back centuries and replied: “Yes, that’s how repatriation would work.”
The court also heard that he was photographed in 2016 performing a Nazi salute in the Buchenwald death camp execution chamber, and said that he did not believe that the Holocaust occurred. He said that he felt “badly” about the photograph, and, regarding the Holocaust, insisted: “I do not believe there was a systematic extermination of Jews. I can’t be a national socialist if the Holocaust occurred, I cannot support an ideology that supports genocide. I have the same moral compass as anyone else, I believe murder is wrong and I cannot support something that engaged in systematic genocide of people because they are Jewish.”
The jury heard that Mr Davies contacted prospective members on the secure messaging platform Wire, explaining that the group had a “revolutionary Nationalist Socialist ideology”, but needed to “be able to ‘swim’ among the general population without trouble.”
Prosecutor Barnaby Jameson told Winchester Crown Court that National Action was banned after it “terrorised” towns including Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Swansea and Darlington, during which its members could be heard “screaming Nazi-era proclamations through megaphones”, including one occasion in York where Mr Davies reportedly spoke in front of a banner that read “Refugees not welcome: Hitler was right.”
Judge Mark Dennis QC anticipated that it was “inevitable” that Mr Davies would be given a custodial sentence at a hearing at the Old Bailey on 7th June.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend the jury for convicting this Holocaust-denier and neo-Nazi leader. Alex Davies is the epitome of a youth wasted, devoted as it was to ignorance and malice. Neo-Nazis have no place in British society. The ban on National Action, secured after calls from Campaign Against Antisemitism and others, was the first step, and convictions of its members are the second. We trust that the sentence will be proportionate to the very serious charges on which Mr Davies has been found guilty.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing
