National Action: Neo-Nazi group's aliases 'Scottish Dawn' and 'NS131' banned under terrorism laws, says Home Office

Ban comes after the Independent reveals groups were using loophole to continue operating

Members of National Action at a march in Darlington (Hope Not Hate)

The Government says it has banned two neo-Nazi groups - 'Scottish Dawn' and 'NS131' - after identifying them as aliases of outlawed organisation “National Action”.

National Action became the UK’s first ever banned neo-Nazi terrorist group, when the Government outlawed it in December 2016.

Scottish Dawn and NS131 (National Socialist Anti-Capitalist Action) will also be proscribed as terrorist organisations from Friday.

The new ban comes after The Independent revealed the group was still operating under new names used to evade authorities.

Police previously said they were powerless to arrest neo-Nazis acting under new aliases.

The ban, laid in Parliament on Thursday, follows the arrest of 11 suspected members of National Action.

A counter-terrorism chief said the police were taking the threat of neo-Nazism as seriously as that of jihadist terrorism.

Of the 11 men arrested, five were allegedly planning terrorist acts, understood to relate to “threats against individuals”.

Wednesday’s arrests are understood to be the result of police inquiries following the arrest of three men, including two soldiers accused of being members of National Action.

Matthew Collins, the head of research at campaign group Hope Not Hate, told The Independent earlier this month that known neo-Nazis from National Action were seen meeting at a “terror training camp” in Warrington.

There were 10 of them in there training,” he said. “They believe they’re untouchable, they laugh at the police.”

According to its website, Scottish Dawn describes itself as a “new identitarian social movement”, and claims the current Scottish government obeys “orders from Brussels” and is creating a state where Scots are “taxed bled on the altar of the so-called ‘refugee’, where the oil, land and resources are owned exclusively by foreigners.”

It says it was formed “from various organisations in 2017”.

Despite the ban on the groups there remain concerns the members will simply change the organisation’s name again.

David Videcette, a former counter-terrorism detective in the Metropolitan Police, told The Independent earlier this month: “The problem is that as soon as the Government proscribes an organisation, they change the name and there’s very little law enforcement can do.”

“You have to go through Parliament to get a new organisation proscribed so it’s not ideal.

“I think authorities have got to start going after people individually – they know who they are.”