National Action trial: Accused 'admired Hitler'

A man accused of being in a neo-Nazi terror group told a court he owned a special edition of Mein Kampf as he had "feelings of admiration" for Hitler.

Mark Jones, 24, along with his partner, Alice Cutter, 22, are accused of being members of National Action after it was outlawed in December 2016.

Mr Jones told Birmingham Crown Court Adolf Hitler was a "prominent figure" in his ideology.

The special edition book was given to Nazi party members as a wedding gift.

Mr Jones and Ms Cutter, both of Mulhalls Mill, Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, are standing trial alongside Garry Jack, 23, from Heathland Avenue, Birmingham, and 18-year-old Connor Scothern, of Bagnall Avenue, Nottingham, who deny the same charge.

Benjamin Newton, for the defence, asked Mr Jones why he had a copy of Hitler's autobiography.

"It's fairly obvious," he told the court.

"Hitler was the leader of a National Socialist party [and] was a prominent figure in my ideology so I have feelings of admiration for him."

The jury was previously told his partner Ms Cutter had entered a "Miss Hitler" beauty contest under the name "Buchenwald Princess" - a reference to a Nazi-era death camp at which tens of thousands of people were killed or starved.

An image of Mr Jones giving a Nazi salute in the camp's execution room was widely shared on social media, the court heard earlier.

Asked why he had gone there, Mr Jones said his German tour guide wanted to visit.

He said he was "taken aback" about the publicity the image received.

"I felt it was shocking," he said.

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The court also heard Mr Jones describe Thomas Mair, the man who murdered Jo Cox, as a "scumbag".

"I don't see how he can defend any action he did [and] it is counter-intuitive to what we were trying to achieve," he said.

The trial continues.

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