A FAR-RIGHT Extremist has been handed a life sentence by a judge in the UK after plotting to murder a local MP.
Last year, 23-year-old Jack Renshaw pleaded not guilty to planning to commit a terrorist act, which involved a sword similar to those used by Roman soldiers.
His target was an MP for West Lancashire, Rosie Cooper, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
He also pleaded guilty to making threats to kill a police officer who had been investigating him.
Evidence from the CPS claimed Renshaw saw the murder as a blow to a “Jewish-controlled state” and saw the MP as a traitor who deserved to die as she represented a false democracy.
Before sentencing, a judge heard how Renshaw was serving a three-year prison term for stirring up racial hatred in two anti-Semitic speeches in 2016.
At another trial last year he was also sentenced to 16 months for child sex offences.
Renshaw admitted being a member of racist group National Action until it was banned as a terrorist organisation in December 2016.
Jenny Hopkins, a spokesperson for the CPS, said: “A crime of this type against anyone is a serious matter but when our MPs are targeted it is also an attack on the democratic process and public service.
“Jack Renshaw was prepared to act on his white supremacist world view and plotted to kill a member of parliament – a plan reminiscent of the abhorrent murder of Jo Cox MP.
“He also made threats against a police officer and his prison sentence reflects the seriousness of the offences.”
Evidence presented to the court included research he carried out online into cutting the jugular artery and how long it would take someone to die from the wound.
The following month he bought the sword which was described by the online seller as offering “19 inches of unprecedented piercing and slashing power at a bargain price”.
Renshaw was given a life sentence on 17 May and ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison.
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