Alan Edward: Neo-Nazi who had home 'armoury' and discussed terror attack against LGBT group jailed

A neo-Nazi who amassed an "armoury" at his home and discussed an attack on a LGBT group has been jailed for 10 years.

Alan Edward, 55, was detained after armed police swooped on his house in Redding, Falkirk, in September 2022.

Police Scotland said a number of weapons were seized.

A court was told officers recovered items including a crossbow, machetes, a tomahawk, a samurai sword, knuckledusters, a catapult, an extendable baton and a stun gun.

Fourteen knives were discovered, and some were adorned with Nazi and SS insignia.

They also found an air pistol, an SS-style skull mask, goggles and a respirator, fighting gloves with hardened knuckles, pellets, ball bearings, and hunting tips for crossbow arrows.

Prosecutors argued this amounted to "an armoury".

Former Police Scotland superintendent and counter-terrorism expert Martin Gallagher said it was fortunate the force was able to snare Edward before he followed through with any of his threats.

He noted how Edward "idolised" neo-Nazi mass murderer Anders Breivik, who killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and shot dead 69 others at a Norwegian Labour Party youth camp on the island of Utoya in 2011.

Speaking to Sky News' Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies, Mr Gallagher said: "I would not put someone who is acting alone on a different level from a group - they can be just as deadly."

Edward was said to have come to the attention of counter-terrorism officers after posting a video of a National Action rally held in 2016 - shortly before it became the first far-right group to be proscribed in the UK under the Terrorism Act.

Police Scotland said its investigation - dubbed Operation Lightbox - established that, between December 2017 and September 2022, Edward posted and shared videos, memes and images online of a racist, homophobic and violent nature, including information associated with extreme right-wing groups.

A court was told he possessed and expressed a "set of ideals with a neo-Nazi outlook", while a document found on his computer referred to Breivik as "Saint Anders".

In a series of WhatsApp exchanges, Edward also discussed a proposed attack on a LGBT group in Falkirk.

He was reported to have said: "They have been pushing their luck for years, now they will pay in blood."

Edward added: "We should get masked up and go do a few of them in at their little gay club."

Other messages were said to have targeted communists and Jews.

'It's very frightening'

Detective Superintendent Stephen Clark, head of counter-terrorism investigations at Police Scotland, said Edward "shared extreme racist and homophobic content online with the aim of stirring up hatred and spreading fear and alarm".

Christopher Clannachan, from human rights charity Equality Network, described the case as "very frightening".

He told Sky News: "But I think over the last few years we've witnessed a rising toxic anti-LGBTI culture here in Scotland and the UK.

"So, whilst it's very frightening, I don't imagine it being entirely unsurprising to many."

Edward denied any wrongdoing, but in September was found guilty of a number of offences following a trial at the High Court in Stirling.

As well as multiple charges under the Terrorism Act, he was convicted of racism, antisemitism, Holocaust denial and breach of the peace.

He was also caught with an indoor cannabis plantation that he was growing to sell.

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'It is necessary to punish you'

Edward was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday.

Judge Fiona Tait noted Edward's previous criminal history, which included convictions for possession of an offensive weapon, public disorder, breach of court orders, road traffic offences, drug possession, copyright infringement, wasting police time, assault and dishonesty.

The judge said Edward was deemed a "high risk of reoffending", adding: "For such serious offences, there is no appropriate alternative to a prison sentence.

"It is necessary to punish you, to seek to deter you and others from possessing weapons and engaging in activities for the purposes of terrorism and to protect the public from you."

He was handed a 15-year extended sentence, with 10 years in jail and five years on licence once released back into the community.

Edward was also made subject of a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO), which will be in place for five years after his release from prison.

He was additionally made subject to notification requirements in regards to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 for 30 years.

Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: "Alan Edward gloried in being a propagandist for an extremist ideology, which exists for a malign purpose, and invited others to support those views.

"The offences he committed were deeply disturbing. But he will now spend a lengthy period in prison to account for his crimes."