Nick Griffin, the former BNP leader, right, poses with kit donated by Knights Templar International to vigilantes in Bulgaria

A new British far-right movement is raising funds via Facebook and equipping extremist vigilantes to capture immigrants in eastern Europe.

The shadowy organisation styling itself the Knights Templar International (KTI) has been promoted by prominent far-right figures including Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party (BNP), and Paul Golding, head of Britain First.

An investigation by The Times has established that social media marketing tricks are being used to raise money and support from unsuspecting Facebook users. KTI has used its funds to deliver bulletproof vests, drones and night-vision goggles to a Bulgarian group devoted to catching immigrants crossing the European Union’s frontier.

The news will raise fears of a resurgence in far-right activism days after the white supremacist Thomas Mair was