An internal guide for British army officers to help them spot "extreme right wing" attitudes among soldiers — including naming specific views and behaviours towards Muslims, Jews, "the Left" and political correctness — has leaked online.

The chart titled "EXTREME RIGHT WING (XRW) INDICATORS & WARNINGS" has been circulating since the weekend on UK far-right news and conspiracy websites. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it is genuine.

The 20-box 'XRW chart' lists a range of behaviours linked to extreme right-wing radicalisation, which officers should "look out for" in soldiers.

Among them are: "Describe themselves as 'Patriots'... Looks at opponents as 'Traitors'... Add 'istan' to British place names... Use the term 'Islamofascism'... Make generalisations about Muslims and Jews... Refers to Political Correctness as some left wing or communist plot... Make inaccurate generalisations about 'the Left' or Government... Talk of an impending racial conflict or 'Race War'... Involve colleagues in closed social media groups."

The MOD said the document was produced in late 2017 after the arrest of four soldiers who were accused of being affiliated with the banned neo-Nazi terror group National Action. At a trial last year, British army veteran, Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen was found guilty of being a member of the group, with the court hearing how he tried to recruit fellow soldiers to join. He was jailed for eight years.

Addressing the 'XRW chart', an army spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that "robust measures" were in place to make sure they didn't have people with "extremist views" in the armed forces.

The leak of the chart comes as the British army grapples with how to root our far-right attitudes after a series of high-profile incidents.



The Scottish investigative journalism outlet The Ferret revealed earlier this month that the armed forces had developed new measures to prevent the radicalisation of soldiers.

The investigation titled, "How the army is trying to stop neo-Nazis recruiting soldiers", revealed the MOD had brought in the training to prevent soldiers from being recruited to groups like National Action.

Last year, the Army launched an investigation after former English Defence League founder and prominent anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson posted a photo to Facebook showing himself with a group of soldiers.