Police officer appears in court charged with membership of proscribed neo-Nazi National Action terrorist group

A police officer has appeared in court after being charged last month with being a member of the banned neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action following his arrest in March.

Benjamin Hannam, 21, appeared in the Old Bailey and did not enter any pleas for the five charges, which cover other allegations, including possession of indecent images and fraud.

He has been suspended from duty in the Metropolitan Police following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.

It is alleged that he belonged or professed to belong to the proscribed group between December 2016 and January 2018 and that he falsely represented himself in his application to join the Metropolitan Police in this connection.

Other members of National Action were recently convicted and sentenced to prison for their role in the organisation.

National Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in December 2016 following a long campaign by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others. Under section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000, membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation is a criminal offence.