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ISSUE 1381Sunday 7 March 1999

  MI5 swoops on Army 'neo-Nazis'
By Rajeev Syal and Andrew Gilligan


 

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SOLDIERS with the elite Parachute and King's regiments, together with several civilians, were under arrest last night after a year-long MI5, Special Branch and military police inquiry into organised neo-Nazi infiltration into the Army and civilian life.

Fourteen addresses were raided on Friday as MI5 officers examined possible links between the arrested men, members of the violent Combat 18 fascist group, and Loyalist terrorists in Ulster. Racist literature, computer disks, knives and, in one case, ammunition were seized.

Some of those detained, who include two serving members of the Army and at least one ex-soldier, are suspected of using their military expertise to offer weapons training to neo-fascist organisations and Loyalist terrorists. Security sources refused to confirm or deny whether any of the arrested men were also suspected of involvement in arms trafficking to Ulster paramilitaries.

Another senior defence official said that in addition to the soldiers involved in Friday's raids, a further dozen men in Regular and TA units were under investigation for neo-Nazi activity. Some were under surveillance and some will be questioned shortly.

He said: "There are pockets of neo-fascist activity in some regiments. There has been an attempt [by neo-fascist groups] to spread the word in the Army and that is the basis on which we are acting. But 99 per cent of the Army would rebuff this sort of activity very strongly."

Combat 18, which takes its name from Adolf Hitler's initials, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, has long been connected with illegal activity. It orchestrated hooligans to disrupt a football match between Ireland and England in 1995 and sent letter bombs to mixed-race couples such as Sharron Davies and Derek Redmond.

High-ranking members of Combat 18 have been photographed with the leadership of the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force. A World In Action programme last year claimed that Charlie Sargent, the former leader of Combat 18, spied on Ulster Loyalists for the Special Branch. It also showed that Combat 18 members acquired guns and detonators for the UDA.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said raids took place in London, Lancashire, Merseyside, Kent, Thames Valley, Humberside, West Yorkshire, and South Wales. Ten forces were involved. He said: "We can confirm that a number of warrants were executed to seek material including compact disks and publications suspected of contravening Part Three of the Public Order Act 1986 which concerns acts intended or likely to stir up racial hatred."

Those being questioned are a private with the Parachute Regiment, whose background is in logistics and whose Para service includes deployments to Northern Ireland and Bosnia. He has been seen at a number of Blood and Honour events, which are run by members of Combat 18. The second soldier being questioned is a private from 1 Bn the Kings Regiment, based in the North West.

The Army knew of Combat 18 activity within its ranks as early as last July. MoD documents obtained by Searchlight, the anti-fascist magazine, and seen by The Telegraph, show that the Army commissioned a detailed report into neo-Nazi activity last year. It identified at least 12 soldiers as supporters of Combat 18 - but there were no arrests.

One security source said: "We had to get evidence against these people or there was a risk of things going off at half-cock. We conducted an extremely painstaking long-term joint investigation including surveillance."

Nick Lowles, co-editor of Searchlight, said: "The Army is seen by neo-Nazis as a potential breeding ground. The investigation is positive, but could have been launched months ago."

An Army spokesman said disciplinary action would be taken against any soldier shown to be involved in racist activities. He said: "There is absolutely no place in the Armed Forces for racism or harassment."

6 March 1999: Eight in 10 say Britain has problem with racism
2 March 1999: Straw warns police over race relations
11 November 1998: Service chiefs are given order to root out racism
12 September 1997: Judge condemns racist magazine [published by Combat 18 member] as vile and evil
3 September 1997: [International] Neo-Nazis guilty of letter bomb plot
26 February 1996: Special squad tracks growing band of Nazis
16 February 1995: English thugs stop Dublin game


 


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