The home secretary has extended her ban on the neo-Nazi group National Action to two further alias organisations under which it has continued to operate.
A parliamentary order proscribing Scottish Dawn and NS131 – also known as National Socialist Anti-Capitalist Action – will come into effect from Friday, making it a criminal offence to belong to or invite support for either group. Conviction will carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
National Action, described by the Home Office as a neo-Nazi group, was banned last December following an assessment that it was “concerned in terrorism”. Five serving members of the British army were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of being members of the banned group.
The Home Office said Scottish Dawn and NS131 had been identified as alternative names used by the banned group.
The home secretary, Amber Rudd, said: “National Action is a vile, racist, homophobic and antisemitic group, which glorifies violence and stirs up hatred while promoting their poisonous ideology – and I will not allow them to masquerade under different names.
“By extending the proscription of National Action, we are halting the spread of a poisonous ideology and stopping its membership from growing – protecting those who could be at risk of radicalisation.”
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