White supremacist jailed indefinitely

A white supremacist, said by prosecutors to be on the cusp of starting a racist terrorism campaign against the "non-British," was given an indefinite jail term yesterday for plotting to carry out bomb attacks.

Neil Lewington, 44, was carrying the components for two homemade bombs when he was arrested last October at Lowestoft railway station in Suffolk on his way to visit a woman he had met on the internet.

The Old Bailey was told he had an unhealthy interest in far-right attackers and kept videos and news footage of them.

These included David Copeland, a neo-Nazi who carried out three nail bombings in London in 1999, and US Army veteran Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

Mr Lewington, who was convicted of having explosives with intent to endanger life and preparing for acts of terrorism in July, was given an indeterminate sentence with a minimum term of six years yesterday, the Press Association reported.

After his arrest, a search of the house he shared with his parents in Reading uncovered bomb-making equipment, instructions on how to convert tennis balls into shrapnel bombs, and a notebook titled "Waffen SS UK members' handbook".

"This man, who had strong if not fanatical right-wing leanings and opinions, was on the cusp of embarking on a campaign of terrorism against those he considered non-British," prosecutor Brian Altman told the court.

"The defendant had in his possession the component parts of two viable improvised incendiary devices."