Teenage racist convicted of terror charges

A teenage white supremacist was convicted today of three counts of possessing terror documents.

Former milkman's assistant Nicky Davison, 19, of Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, County Durham, was a founder member of the Aryan Strike Force set up by his 41-year-old father Ian.

Davison Snr already admitted six charges, including producing deadly ricin, one of the world's most dangerous substances.

The jury at Newcastle Crown Court took 50 minutes to convict the teenager of three counts of possessing information useful in committing or preparing terror acts.

The court heard the group planned to fight against what they called the Zionist Occupied Government and believed the state had been taken over by Jews.

Jurors heard a police raid at the home he shared with his mother and younger brother found copies of The Poor Man's James Bond and the Anarchist's Cookbook on two computers.

The defendant denied any knowledge of the documents and the court heard a "mischievous" friend downloaded them.

In his defence, he said he joined the group to please his racist father.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

Judge John Milford remanded Davison in custody, and he was taken away after hugging his weeping mother in the public gallery.

The racist gang was fully intending to use the deadly ricin, Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin said outside court.

"I have no understanding of their intended target," he said.

"What I do know is the nature of the organisation and what it had pulled together in terms of the ricin, pipe bombs and the manuals can only give me concerns that the next step was to take it to the streets."

He said the deadly substance was found in a sealed jar and was in a usable state.

It has now been taken to the UK's chemical weapons centre at Porton Down.

Mr Malkin said the father, a former pub DJ, was the head of the organisation which had "abhorrent views" towards "ethnic minorities and Jewish people".

But the son was old enough to know his own mind, the detective said.

"He lived in an atmosphere of extreme right-wing white supremacist neo-Nazi rhetoric and he has embraced that.

"Nicky certainly had his own mind and he has gone on to further that by being involved."

He added: "It has been a long, complex case. With the help of colleagues from the counter-terrorism world, I have come to understand the virtual world of the internet."

The Aryan Strike Force communicated online and members used code names to identify themselves while sharing extremist violent views.

The group was in the early stages of preparation when it was raided, but planned paramilitary operations which aimed to topple the government.

The guides the 19-year-old downloaded ran to thousands of pages and explained how to make bombs, detonators, silencers and pistols.

Davison Snr, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, admitted preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon last summer.

He also admitted three counts relating to possessing the handbooks.

Ricin is extracted from the castor bean and exposure to small quantities can be fatal.

The US Centre for Disease Control suggested that as little as 500mg - about half a grain of rice - could be lethal if injected or inhaled, and it has no known antidote.

The Aryan Strike Force members believed themselves to be the most racist group in Britain.

Davison Jnr had written online that he was prepared to "die fighting".

But in his defence he claimed he was now "disgusted" by his white supremacist views.