Neo-Nazi thugs in Sweden last night warned of a year of violence against immigrants as the so-called 'liberal' state was forced to confront a new wave of support for the far right.

The extremist Swedish Resistance Movement (SRM) hailed the racist mob that attacked 'foreign-looking' men, women and children at Stockholm's Central Station 'heroes' last week, describing them as modern 'Robin Hoods'.

It comes amid rising anger at the nation's 'open door' policy on immigration - and concern that the influx of migrants is fuelling the growth of the far right.

A recent poll found that the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration group with a neo-Nazi past, have become the country's biggest political party with 28.8 per cent of the vote.

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Violent: Convicted killer Klas Lund is the founder of Sweden's neo-Nazis and has also been jailed for bank robbery, assault and possession of an illegal weapon. He killed campaigner Ronny Landin when he intervened to stop an assault on three immigrants in Nynashamn in 1986 but has seen a chilling rise in popularity following concerns over the influx of migrants

Extreme: Neo-Nazi thug Emil Hagberg (right, pictured with fellow neo-Nazi Haakon Forwald), the spokesman for the Swedish Resistance Movement, told MailOnline that the far-Right movement in Sweden is growing stronger and more determined to stand up to the 'madness'

Threat: Neo-Nazi demonstrators make the fascist salute during a demonstration in Stockholm, in December 2006. Despite popular belief that Sweden is a liberal and unbiased country, it too has a history of fascism

Neo-Nazi thug and 'Swedish Resistance Movement spokesman' Emil Hagberg told MailOnline: 'The coming year will be interesting. We will mount our own patrols in cities and towns in Sweden, wherever capable.

'We have huge sympathy with the vigilantes who fought back [at Stockholm Central Station] on Friday. Finally someone has stood up to this madness.'

The dramatic rise in popularity for anti-immigration groups has exposed Sweden's dark history of right-wing politics, which has penetrated some of the country's best known firms and even the monarchy.

'Sweden has always had far right political organisations,' said Jonathan Lemas, a researcher at the neo-Nazi watchdog organisation Expo.

'Radical nationalism is part of the political landscape in Sweden.'

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was a member of the pro-fascist New Swedish Movement and was friends with its leader Per Engdahl, a supporter of Adolf Hitler.

Queen Silvia of Sweden's German father was a member of the Nazi Party and made a fortune from a factory seized from Jewish owners.

But it is the ugly modern face of fascism that is triggering most concern.

Terror: A 'hundreds strong' mob of black-clad masked men went on a rampage in and around Stockholm's main train station targeting refugee children and anyone who did not look ethnically Swedish on January 29

Founder: Swedish Resistance Movement founder Klas Lund and convicted killer, at home in Grangesberg, is the figurehead of the neo-Nazi movement that is warning of violence against migrants

Rising anger: Grangesberg, pictured, is home to the head of the neo-Nazi movement but far-right sympathies are increasingly mainstream. The Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration group with a neo-Nazi past, was named the country's biggest political party with 28.8 per cent of the vote in a recent poll

Birthplace: The main station at Grangesberg, in Sweden, the hometown of Klas Lund, who founded the neo-Nazi group the Swedish Resistance Movement. It has dramatically grown in size in recent months as Sweden's government has welcomed record numbers of migrants into the country

Cradling a broken hand, which he injured in a riot two weeks ago, Hagberg said members of his openly 'national socialist' SRM had joined football hooligans to beat up 'foreigners' as 'private citizens'.

The 31-year-old from Ludvika said: 'People are afraid to talk about immigration. But these people are heroes, Robin Hood figures, who have popular support.'

Rooted in the country's Nazi tradition, the Swedish Resistance Movement (SRM) was formed in 1997 by white supremacists released from jail.

Its founder Klas Lund, 47, has a long criminal history including a manslaughter conviction for killing anti-racist campaigner Ronny Landin, who intervened to stop an assault on three immigrants in Nynashamn in 1986.

He has also been jailed for bank robbery, assault and possession of an illegal weapon.

Yet this fascist criminal has been able to capitalise on the growing tide of anti-migrant feeling.

SRM spokesman Hagberg told MailOnline: 'We are National Socialists [Nazis]. Our main aim is the protection of Sweden's [white] people and culture. We don't want our [white] people to disappear from the earth.

'People come to us because they see the streets are full of Somalis and Syrians and they are starting to listen to us because we have been warning of the dangers of immigration for years.'

Vulnerable: Stockholm Central Station is now heavily patrolled after a rampage by masked men who targeted anyone who did not look ethnically Swedish

On patrol: Police presence appears to have been stepped up after the attack on migrants at Stockholm Central Station, where commuters told MailOnline they had concern about immmigration

Concerns: Emelie, 25, fashion journalist from Stockholm, told MailOnline that the Swedish Democrats are 'using immigration propaganda as an excuse for all of Sweden's problems' Josefine, 22, right, a media student from Stockholm is concerned about the growth of racism

Emelie, 25, management consultant from Stockholm told MailOnline: 'Some people are angry at the level of immigration but that is not the majority. The right-wing politicians are using this for their own gains.'

'The Swedish Resistance Movement has a political branch but their main thrust is extra-political – violence, intimidation, crime,' revealed Jonathan Lemas, of Expo, where Stieg Larsson, author of the 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' books, worked.

'They hit people who don't agree with them.'

Long proud of its liberal society and welfare state, Sweden and its left-wing coalition government has come under intense scrutiny over its open-arms approach to Europe's migrant crisis, and is being accused of opening a window of opportunity for extremists.

Sweden has taken in more asylum seekers per head of population than any other European country.

The far right Sweden Democrats (SD) have since surged in the opinion polls amid growing concern about immigration.

The refugee issue was named as the most important political topic in Sweden, the YouGov poll found, ahead of health care education and unemployment.

SD spokesman for migration and citizenship Markus Wiechel told MailOnline: 'The rise in Swedish nationalism is a direct consequence of the situation we see today.

'A lot of Swedes did not realise what was going to happen when we opened the borders [to large numbers of refugees].

Booming support: MailOnline spoke to commuters at Stockholm Central Station who blamed politicians for the rise of far-right sympathies, both by creating an open door policy and by stoking fears of immigration

Protection: Concerns have been raised about the number of migrants at Stockholm Central Station

'It was hard to find people homes in our cities. And now we have these new people to house, educate and look after.

'People have started to understand that it is there money.'

MailOnline spoke to commuters in Stockholm about their views on immigration, some of whom linked the recent arrival of over 160,000 refugees to Sweden with the racist attacks. One woman said she understood the thugs' anger.

Anna, 35, a shop assistant, told MailOnline: 'I can understand why those people attacked immigrants on Friday night [at Stockholm Central Station].

'The government does nothing to control immigration. They don't tell us what is happening. They did not ask before they let hundreds of thousands of immigrants in to the country.

'The immigration policy is to blame for what happened here [at Stockholm Central Station]. The government just said it is ok to let people to come here.

Struggle: Sweden last year took in almost 170,000 asylum-seekers, and immigration has become the number one political issue in the country. Pictured is Sweden Democrat MP Markus Wiechel at Sweden's parliament in Stockholm, who insists they are a party of the centre

Protest: Members of Sweden's Vitt Ariskt Motstånd - named after the U.S. white supremacist organisation White Aryan Resistance - march through the country with flags and flanked by police officers

Implicated: Ikea creator Ingvar Kamprad was a member of the pro-fascist New Swedish Movement, after he signed up in 1942 aged just 16. Queen Silvia of Sweden's (right) German father was a member of the Nazi Party

'I have been to North Africa and the Middle East and you can't go anywhere without being harassed and it's becoming like that here.

'We are having to adapt to their culture. They should adapt to our culture, obey our laws and traditions.

'Swimming pools now have to segregate times for men and women because women keep being assaulted in the pool.

'That is not right. These men should obey by the laws and not touch women.

'A woman should not be treated this way in Sweden. This is not part of Swedish tradition, our society.

'I am glad I don't have a daughter. I would not like to bring her up here in Sweden right now.'

Others branded the racist attacks 'terrible' but believed they were the result of immigration policy and linked it to the rise of far-right political parties.

Lina, 18, a model, said: 'Maybe some people believe that the [Swedish] immigration policy is wrong but that is terrible because that is not how most Swedish people think.'

Julia, 23, a volunteer worker at old people's home, said: 'Some people are frightened by immigration. They fear they will lose their jobs because immigrants. But that is not true.'

Emelie, 25, management consultant, said: 'I guess some people are angry at the level of immigration but that is not the majority of people. Most Swedes want to help [refugees].

'There are always people looking for scapegoats. And the right-wing politicians are using this for their own gains.'

Emelie, 25, fashion journalist, said: 'I think the Swedish Democrats are using immigration propaganda as an excuse for all of Sweden's problems.'

Josefine, 22, a media student, said: 'It is our tradition in Sweden to help refugees but some people don't like that. These racists are horrible, nasty, rude people.'

Aggression: Far-Right extremists in the town of Grangesberg (pictured), in Sweden, hailed the racist mob that attacked 'foreign-looking' men, women and children at Stockholm's Central Station as 'heroes' describing them as modern 'Robin Hoods'

Fears: Right-wing politicians and members of the public insist that there was no warning of what would happen when Sweden's borders were opened to asylum-seekers. Pictured is the town of Grangesberg, where the leader of the neo-Nazis loiv

While born out of the same far-right nationalist movement in the 1980s, under the umbrella 'Keep Sweden Swedish' organisation, the Sweden Democrats party has tried to distance itself from its neo-Nazi past.

SD MP Markus Wiechel told MailOnline: 'The background of party was not too bad but in the 1990's it was infiltrated.

'The leadership has done a good job to clarify what we stand for. From 1995 it was not acceptable to have any links with neo-Nazis whatsoever.'

Wiechel, SD migration and citizenship spokesman, added: 'We are a party of the Centre. We are a social conservative party that stands on nationalist ground. We are social democratic on some issues and right-wing on others such as law and order and immigration.'

Threat: The Swedish Resistance Movement told MailOnline that they are a Nazi group, determined to protect Sweden's people and culture. Pictured is a house in Grangesberg, a town where far-Right 'vigilante' groups are predicting a year of violence against migrants and refugees

Force: Although the Swedish Resistance Movement has a political branch, its main thrust is 'extra-political', including 'violence, intimidation and crime'. Pictured are homes in Grangesberg, where many claim they feel under threat from migrants entering the country

However the Sweden Democrats share many policies with the Swedish Resistance Movement, the country's main neo-Nazi organisation.

Immigration

SD MP Wiechel: 'We should close Sweden's borders to asylum seekers and return those who have not come directly from a conflict zone.'

SRM spokesman Hagberg: 'We would close Sweden's borders immediately and repatriate all the immigrants. We would arrest the politicians and public figures who have lied to us about immigration and charge them with treason.'

Asylum

SD MP Wiechel: 'Most people coming here [to Sweden] have passed through a safe country. Economic migrants, I would like to call them.'

SRM spokesman Hagberg: 'They are mostly opportunists. If there were bombs dropping on my home I would not complain about being sent to a centre in the countryside or worry about ghosts and moose like they do.'

Refugees

SD MP Wiechel: 'The money spent on supporting one asylum seeker here in Sweden could pay for 300 people in a United Nations refugee camp.'

SRM spokesman Hagberg: 'Money spent on one asylum seekers in Sweden would be better spent buying them rice and beans in their own country.'

Integration

SD MP Wiechel: 'There is a clash of cultures. People are coming from countries with different customs and beliefs. They don't have the same values [as Swedes]. We are becoming a divided country that is the consequence of a multi-cultural society.'

SRM spokesman Hagberg: 'Our mission is to protect our people [white Swedes] and culture. We care about our own people and culture. We don't want it to disappear from the earth.'

A committed neo-Nazi Harberg admits to being a member of the far-right gang that fought with unruly youths from immigrant backgrounds during the Husby riots outside Stockholm in May 2013.

He was also part of a neo-Nazi mob that attacked an anti-racist demonstration in Kärrtorp, outside Stockholm, in December last year.

Hagberg told MailOnline: 'The Sweden Democrats see the same problems as we do but they see a different solution. They play by the rules of the enemy.'