Ben Hannam, a Metropolitan Police officer, who was found guilty of being a member of the banned right-wing extremist group National Action (NA) and having terror documents
He has become the first police officer in Britain to be convicted of belonging to a neo-Nazi terrorist organization.
Neo-Nazi Police Officer
Hannam had been working as a probationary officer for the Metropolitan Police for nearly two years before he was found on a leaked database of users of Iron March, an extreme right-wing forum.
He had signed up to the forum when he joined the London branch of neo-Nazi group NA in March 2016.
The officer said he was “desperate to impress” an older NA organizer who gave him free stickers and badges.
Hannam’s association with NA ended before he began working for the Met and counter-terrorism officers acted “swiftly” once he had been identified as a suspect.
He was also convicted of lying on his application and vetting forms to join the Metropolitan Police and having terror documents detailing knife combat and making explosive devices.
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A national conference for the group was held in Liverpool in April 2016, and during this Hannam posed in an official photograph for the group on Crosby Beach.
Details of the trip to Liverpool and Crosby were heard in court during his trial.
Hannam, of Edmonton, north London, is currently suspended from duty.
In addition to his conviction of belonging to the terrorist group, Hannam was convicted of lying on his application and vetting forms to join the Metropolitan Police and having terror documents detailing knife combat and making explosive devices.
Found Guilty
A jury had deliberated for more than 32 hours to find Hannam guilty on Thursday.
Judge Anthony Leonard QC lifted a ban on reporting the case after Hannam admitted possessing an indecent image of a child, which was to have been the subject of a separate trial.
