A British neo-nazi movement National Action is the first far right extremist group banned under terrorism laws. As from Friday it will be illegal to be a member.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said National Action was "a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation". An order laid in Parliament to proscribe the group - making it a criminal offence to join or support it - is due to come into effect on Friday.

Following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, a branch of the group tweeted praise for her killer, Thomas Mair.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38286708

https://national-action.info/

I had never heard of National Action. After hearing the group was banned I visited the website. They argue that they are not extremists and even claim to be non-violent, but this pretence is undermined by their use of Tommy Mair's slogan "death to traitors, freedom for Britain". That slogan amounts to incitement to murder. Politicians and journalists are among their targets.

They are a bunch of lunatics with warped dangerous minds. Click on the "join" tab and read under the sub-header 'personal requirements'.

As if that isn't enough to tell anyone they are from the sewers, in other documents they give a guide on how to encrypt and remain anonymous when communicating with other members.

Have they actually as a group committed any offense
I recall when the National Front was just as abhorrent and faced calls to be banned but the response was to let the public hear them and realise what they were like. This even included Nick Griffin appearing on Question Time which pretty well finished them

Section 21 of the Terrorism Act 2006 is a start point. There is plenty more dodgy stuff on their website but as from Friday they will be operating illegally anyway. They already operate covertly but the downside is this will drive them further underground. Nothing the authorities can't handle though.

Griffin on Question Time was comedy gold.

I don't want to defend people like this, but aren't they overstating the problem a bit? Didn't they say that they only have about 60 members or something ridiculously low?
By making this as an issue don't they risk this being covered on the news as a promotional campaign?

Aren't there other groups out there who are higher in number which are more of a threat?
They make such a big deal about a fear of the rise of the far-right, then you find out that this group has less than a hundred members.
The way they go on about things like this is only going to serve as a recruitment campaign.
Don't be surprised that after this being featured on the news this group will probably drastically increase in number. This time next week they may have accumulated five more members.

The far right have splintered quite significantly. There are a good few groups now, most are small. This one is openly supporting terrorist style acts and were seeking to reunite the splintered remnants. It's a start as some of the other groups on the list have similarly low numbers. That does not negate the threat they pose.

That's the thing about exposing bad ideas to sunlight - it kills them off when exposed to the public. You never hear of the BNP nowadays after Griffin's appearances exposed his rhetoric and ideas to the wider public.

When censors wish to drive ideas underground, they are allow to fester and remain unchallenged.

I agree - but remember all the protestors outside BBC Television Centre on the day Question Time with Griffin was recorded? Those people accused the BBC of "promoting" the BNP!

That's probably a really good way to get yourself on a watch list in this Snooper's Charter era.

Just one far-right terrorist can cause "death to traitors".

I agree would people be saying it's only 60 people if it was a extreme right Muslim group.

They have banned them? What does that even mean? Do these people with these view suddenly disappear?

They will just surface under a different name surely.

Aliases and other means to get around the ban are covered under this same order.

Griffin was leader of the BNP at the time, not the NF.