Royal Navy allows members of white nationalist group to remain in service
The Independent, 15 Mar 2020:
Exclusive: Men not disciplined over activism with pan-European Generation Identity group
Two sailors have been allowed to remain in the Royal Navy without being disciplined despite being named as members of a white nationalist group.
Mike Lynton and Kenneth McCourt were reported to have been members of Generation Identity, whose “great replacement” ideology was a key inspiration for the Christchurch massacre and other terror attacks.
An undercover journalist said they were serving together at a naval base in Plymouth, where they believed fellow sailors held similar views. The journalist claimed Mr Lynton was the regional organiser for Generation Identity in southwest England at the time, and Mr McCourt was one of his recruits.
After his story was published in August, the Royal Navy promised an investigation but The Independent has learned that they were not disciplined.
The case was dealt with “administratively” and the men were not put to a court martial. They remain serving members of the Royal Navy after being referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme.
Generation Identity calls for a “remigration” of Muslims from Europe and spreads a conspiracy theory claiming that white people are being eradicated.
The theory’s name – the “great replacement” – was the title of a manifesto posted by Brenton Tarrant before the Christchurch shooting, which itself inspired several other terror attacks.
Tarrant donated money to the Austrian branch of Generation Identity and exchanged friendly emails with its leader Martin Sellner, who has been banned from entering Britain on security grounds.
Ben van der Merwe, a journalist, said he met Mr Lynton and Mr McCourt while spending five months undercover in Generation Identity last year and described both men as “committed” activists.
“They weren’t dabbling,” he told The Independent. “Mike recruited Kenny on the base while they were serving, and Kenny told me about the lower-down ranks had sympathy with all of their views.”
Mr Van der Merwe, who conducted the investigation with campaign group Hope Not Hate, said Mr McCourt disclosed their roles to him at Generation Identity UK’s annual conference in July.
“Kenny told me that his superiors were aware of his involvement with Generation Identity, and said this meant if he got [a new posting] it was a good sign for the group in terms of future activity in the navy,” he said. “He said all the officers were racist, including his diversity officer.”
