Do the BNP act as “conveyor belt” to violent extremism?
Does rising electoral support for racist parties like the BNP lead to more racial violence? The conviction earlier this week of Neil Lewington, a neo-Nazi who planned a terror campaign in Britain, certainly raises that question. Lewington is one of the nastiest (if crack-pot) potential neo-Nazi terrorists in recent history. In his summing up, the Judge said Lewington’s terrorist actions were “designed to intimidate non-white people … for the purpose of pursuing the ideological cause of white supremacy and neo-fascism, albeit in a rather unsophisticated way.” In Lewington’s bedroom police found a nail bomb factory and a notebook entitled “Waffen SS UK Members’ Handbook”. During the trial the court heard about one of Lewington’s inspirations, David Copeland, the Soho nail bomber and former member of the BNP. (Another was Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber). Despite there being no evidence of Lewington’s involvement with the BNP (he appears to have been a lone wolf), his attempt to emul
