Five men who published an extreme right-wing magazine and website
that included instructions on how to make bombs to wage a “racial holy
war” have been jailed for sentences ranging from one to five years.
The
group, which called itself the Racial Volunteer Force, ran a race-hate
website from an address in Lincolnshire and printed a magazine in
Poland called Stormer that was distributed in the UK.
The
magazine paid tribute to David Copeland, who killed three people in
nail bombings in London, and offered “team points” to readers who
torched synagogues.
The men had all pleaded guilty at the Old
Bailey to five counts of conspiracy to publish and distribute racially
inflammatory material with the intention of stirring up racial hatred,
and were sentenced on Friday.
A spokesman for Lincolnshire
police, which ran the international inquiry into the group after the
website was traced to an address in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said: “The
case is unprecedented in terms of the number of offenders and the sheer
scale of the enquiry. Magazines, CDs, posters and badges were seized,
which were described by the prosecuting barrister as ‘offensive,
shocking and explicit’.”
The five sentenced were Mark Atkinson,
(pictured left) 38, of The Roundway, Egham, Surrey, who was sentenced
to five years; Nigel Piggins, 39, (pictured right) of Haltemprice
Street, Hull, who was sentenced to two and a half years; Jonathan Hill,
33, of South Croft, Oldham, who was sentenced to four years; Steven
Bostock, 27, of Westmorland Road, Urmston, Greater Manchester, who was
sentenced to two-and-a-half years; and Michael Dennis, 30, of Ashdown
Way, Tooting, London, who was sentenced to one year.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
