Number of troops referred to counter-terrorism programme DOUBLES in a year amid warnings extremists are ‘targeting the military’ for recruits
- Figures showed 40 members of the armed forces were referred to Prevent
- Freedom of Information Act request disclosed numbers had doubled in number
- Afghanistan veteran Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen jailed over extremism
Top brass in the military are referring more troops than ever before to a terrorism prevention programme over fears they could be recruited by the far right.
Freedom of Information Act disclosures show a total of 40 soldiers, air force personnel and sailors have been probed over extremist concerns since 2019.
Half of them were referred to Prevent – part of the government’s counter-terror strategy – over alleged extreme right-wing activity.
Four serving members of the army were arrested in 2017 under anti-terror laws on suspicion of being members of banned neo-Nazi group National Action.
The court heard Afghanistan veteran Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen had been trying to recruit fellow soldiers for National Action to ‘cleanse our lands’.
Sickening bunting proudly displaying swastikas were found in his possession.
Far-right extremist Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, 34, believed a ‘race war’ was coming to the UK
A box of Nazi flags that were found at at Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen’s home address
The statistics, obtained by the Times, showed the right-wing extremism referrals in the armed forces had increased from five in 2019 to ten between January 2021 and April 2022.
It said the government refused to disclose why the remaining individuals were referred.
Stuart McDonald, a member of the Commons home affairs committee and SNP MP, said: ‘We know historically and internationally that far-right extremists in particular have ambitions to target, recruit and infiltrate into the armed forces.
‘Every instance of extremism in the military is of course hugely concerning.
‘So it is vital that the MoD and the armed forces continue to work hard to detect it and root it out.’
The document, which an MoD spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline is genuine, was leaked online and advises soldiers how to spot signs of potential right-wing extremism
Sailors were feared to have been far-right extremist recruits
Two sailors, including one based on a Trident submarine, were investigated over far-right links.
They were identified in March 2020 as members of Generation Identity, a white nationalist group whose ‘great replacement’ ideology was a key inspiration for the Christchurch massacre at two mosques in the New Zealand city in 2019.
The Times reports they were reported to have been referred to Prevent but were allowed to remain in the military.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘Defence staff are prohibited from membership of proscribed organisations and personnel will be referred to the appropriate authorities if necessary.’
In 2019 a guide to help high-ranking British officers spot right-wing extremists in their ranks was leaked – and the signs included people calling themselves ‘patriots’ and making ‘inaccurate generalisations about the Left’.
The leaflet, made in 2017, is titled ‘Extreme Right Wing (XRW) Indicators & Warnings’ – and advises senior army staff to look out for people who ‘use the term Islamofacism’ [sic] and call people who challenge their ‘XRW’ views ‘indoctrinated’.
The document, which an MoD spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline was genuine, was leaked online, sparking threads on several social media platforms such as Reddit.
Other criteria the leaflet says are an indicator of ‘XRW’ beliefs include describing multicultural cities as ‘lost’, adding ‘-istan’ to British place names, having tattoos with ‘overt and covert XRW iconography’ and viewing opponents as ‘traitors’.
Speaking of an ‘impending racial conflict or ‘race war” and making generalisations about Muslims and Jews are also warning signs, the leaflet states.
British soldier and self-confessed racist Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen was jailed for eight years
Officers are told to look out for individuals who discuss the creation of ‘white only communities’ and ‘become increasingly angry at perceived injustices or threats to so called national identity’.
Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, then 34, was convicted of being a member of neo-Nazi terror group National Action and jailed for eight years.
The Royal Anglian Regiment soldier was kicked out of the Army after his arrest in September 2017, along with another soldier as he tried to form an underground network and stockpiled weapons.
The Army’s most senior soldier, Sergeant Major Glenn Haughton, had previously posted a social media video which said: ‘If you’re a serving soldier or a would-be soldier, and you hold these intolerant and extremist views, as far as I’m concerned, there is no place for you in the British Army – so get out.’
The leaflet was designed to ‘educate Chains of Command on the indicators and warnings of personnel who may harbour extremist views’, and was said to highlight ‘several indicators and warnings, the demonstration of a significant number of which could be associated with someone with extreme right-wing views’.
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