Neo-Nazi terror group with Scots offshoot has not stopped recruiting despite being banned, research finds

A neo-Nazi terror group with an offshoot in Scotland has not stopped recruiting despite being banned by the UK Government, according to researchers.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said National Action, which re-emerged as Scottish Dawn after being proscribed in 2016, is still gathering members and financial support.

According to the report by the Whitehall think tank, there is also evidence of financing from abroad for another far-right group called Generation Identity, which has been active in Scotland.

RUSI said National Action is estimated to still have between 50 and 100 members with “regional chapters” and “unit heads”.

“Recruitment has not stopped since the group’s proscription, but funding has become reliant on more discrete peer-to-peer transactions, such as PayPal,” RUSI said.

In January it emerged that Generation Identity Scotland/Alba had been trying to recruit at both the Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian universities.

Meanwhile, it emerged the Ministry of Defence produced a leaflet – Extreme Right Wing (XRW) Indicators & Warnings – to try to stop soldiers being recruited by neo-Nazis.

Last month we revealed five serving personnel had been referred to the UK Government’s anti-­terror programme as the Army hunts infiltration by far-right groups.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said: “We have confronted, proscribed and prosecuted far-right groups.

“The decision about who to prosecute and when is a matter for the police and CPS. In Scotland it is a matter for the Procurator Fiscal.”