A Finnish man has been charged with terror offences in the UK, according to West Midlands Police.
Mikko Vehvilainen, 32, is a serving soldier in the British army, currently stationed at a military training base in Wales. He is also a Finnish citizen.
Vehvilainen is charged with being a member of a banned right wing Neo-Nazi organisation called National Action; possessing a document that could be useful for someone preparing an act of terrorism; two counts of publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred; and illegal possession of pepper spray.
West Midlands Police have also charged two other men, including another British soldier serving in Cyprus, with being a member of National Action.
National Action was banned at the end of 2016 by the British government, after it publicly supported the man who murdered British politician Jo Cox, and distributing pro-Nazi leaflets on university campuses.
When the ban went into place, Britain’s Home Secretary – the equivalent of Finland’s Interior Minister – described National Action as “a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology”.
