Home Office figures show 13% of those held on terror offences are far-right extremists

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The number of people in prison in relation to far-right terror offences has increased nearly five times since the neo-Nazi murder of the MP Jo Cox, figures have revealed.

Twenty-eight convicted terrorists or suspects were being held for offences connected to right-wing extremism at the end of June, compared to just six when the Labour MP was killed.

White people make up largest proportion of British terror arrests Read more

The white supremacist Thomas Mair, 55, shouted “Britain first” as he shot Cox during the EU referendum campaign before stabbing her in Birstall, West Yorkshire, in June 2016.

The latest Home Office statistics show an average of six alleged and convicted far-right supporters were being held in jails - either on remand pending trial or having been convicted - from 2013 to her death.

But this increased to 10 the year after, before reaching 28 at the end of June this year.

With 178 being held, accused Islamists still make up the majority but their share inside prisons has shrunk.

The Home Office figures show about 13% of those held on terror offences are said to be far-right extremists, compared to 4% at the time of the MP’s murder.

Others being held include Darren Osborne, who ploughed a van into Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park, north London. The father-of-four was said to have been “rapidly radicalised” by far-right online material.

Members of National Action, the first right-wing group to become a proscribed terrorist organisation, are also among the jailed population.

Figures for the year up to June 2018 also show how the number of white people arrested on suspicion of terror offences outnumbered Asian suspects for the first time since June 2005, shortly before the London bombings.

The security minister, Ben Wallace, said: “Our police, security services and the wider criminal justice system work tirelessly to keep us safe from the threat we face from terrorism.

“These figures show our response is working and we are now seeing more terrorism trials than ever and longer sentences for the most dangerous offenders.”