National Action: Ben Raymond guilty of terror charges

Ben Raymond retweeted a post celebrating Jo Cox's murder, the court heard

The co-founder of a neo-Nazi group has been found guilty of being a member of a banned terrorist organisation.

Ben Raymond, 32, from Swindon, was part of National Action, a group which wanted to wage a "white Jihad" and race war in Britain.

Raymond was also convicted of possessing a manifesto by the Norwegian terrorist Andrews Breivik and a guide to homemade detonators.

He was found not guilty of four counts of possessing other documents.

The graduate is the 17th person to be convicted of membership of the white supremacist group after a jury convicted him on Tuesday.

Raymond helped create the organisation in 2013 and coined the term "white jihad", Bristol Crown Court previously heard.

He produced much of its propaganda and was likened to the Third Reich's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

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It was later proscribed after its social media channels glorified the murder of the MP Jo Cox by white supremacist terrorist Thomas Mair in 2016.

Ben Raymond when he appeared in court in April

After the ban he remained involved in the group - joining group chats, designing propaganda and continuing to associate with other leading figures.

His trial at Bristol Crown Court heard how he told an associate he would "take it as a badge of honour" if National Action was declared illegal.

Hammer and machete

Following the ban, the group's former spokesman Jack Renshaw - an associate of Raymond - was jailed for a terrorist plot to murder his local MP Rosie Cooper in Lancashire.

Raymond had also been been in contact with Zack Davies, who in 2015 attempted to murder a Sikh man in Mold, Flintshire, using a hammer and machete.

He was later given a life sentence.

In 2018 the BBC tracked Raymond down to a Swansea bedsit and challenged him on his role in the group.

Raymond was an associate of convicted neo-Nazi Jack Renshaw

In April he was charged with remaining a member of National Action between December 2016 and September 2017, as well as several counts of possessing terrorist information, including bomb-making guides.

Following the verdict Raymond was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the same court on Friday.