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A FORMER Birmingham BNP organiser who led a young far-right group modelled on Hitler Youth has been found dead - just days before he was due to appear in court.

Paul Hickman, 37, was a leading member of National Action, an outlawed terrorist group whose members have allegedly included serving British Army soldiers.

The organisation, which styles itself as “revolutionary white nationalist”, has expressed admiration for far-right terrorist Andres Breivik, and praised Thomas Mair, the racist killer of MP Jo Cox.

Last year Hickman, of Norrington Road, Northfield, was charged with race hate offences after racist stickers were found plastered at Aston University.

Hickman was accused of possessing multiple copies of two National Action leaflets with a view to the material being displayed or distributed, and had been bailed to appear before Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.

The case was adjourned until November 20 while the court awaits Hickman’s death certificate.

National Action hit the headlines in September after 11 men, including four serving members of the British Army, were arrested under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of being members of the outlawed group.

In banning the group last December, making it the first far-right terror group to be proscribed in the UK, Home Secretary Amber Rudd described it as a “racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation which stirs up racial hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology.”

Tributes to Hickman have appeared on social media from across the global far-right community including the USA and Europe labelling him a “martyr”.