Image copyright West Midlands Police Image caption Mikko Vehvilainen will be sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to another offence

A soldier who was based in Powys has been cleared of a terrorism offence.

L/Cpl Mikko Vehvilainen, 33, of the Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, was found not guilty of possessing a document containing terrorist information.

The charge related to a manual by Norwegian mass murderer and terrorist Anders Breivik - who killed 77 people in two attacks in Norway in 2011.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court also acquitted Vehvilainen of two counts of stirring up racial hatred online.

Vehvilainen had earlier pleaded guilty to being in possession of a prohibited weapon - an illegal pepper spray - and will be sentenced on Friday.

Police found dozens of weapons - including knives, crossbows and a "war hammer" - at two properties in Powys occupied by Vehvilainen and guns which had licences.

A 23-year-old civilian male from Birmingham will also be sentenced after being convicted of two counts of possessing documents containing terrorist information.

Image copyright West Midlands Police Image caption Some of the weapons found at the two properties and not in Vehvilainen's possession

The court heard that one of the documents was a "racist instructional book aimed at white extremists."

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also convicted of distributing a terrorist publication called "Ethnic Cleansing Operations".

But jurors found him not guilty of a separate count of possessing the Breivik manual.

Another solider - 25-year-old Pte Mark Barrett, who was based in Cyprus when arrested last year - was found not guilty of membership of a banned neo-Nazi group.

An Army spokesman said: "We expect the highest standards of behaviour from our personnel whether on or off duty.

"Anyone found to have fallen short of these standards will be dealt with administratively and can face a number of sanctions including dismissal."</s>Image copyright West Midlands Police Image caption Mikko Vehvilainen was sentenced on Friday

A serving soldier and self-confessed racist has been jailed for having a banned CS gas canister.

L/Cpl Mikko Vehvilainen, 33, of Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, was cleared of terror offences on Thursday but admitted having a prohibited weapon.

Vehvilainen kept the spray in a drawer of a home he was renovating in Llansilin, Powys.

He was jailed for a total of eight years after another offence was taken into consideration.

A judge at Birmingham Crown Court said he had a "long and deep-seated adherence" to racist ideology.

Pavlos Panyai QC, the soldier's barrister, told the trial jury it was "not in dispute he is a racist" but it was not criminal, by itself, to hold such views.

Police found dozens of weapons - including knives, crossbows and a "war hammer" - at two properties in Powys occupied by Vehvilainen and guns which were licenced.

He also kept a photograph which showed him giving a Nazi-type salute at a memorial to his native Finland's independence.

Image copyright West Midlands Police Image caption Some of the weapons found at the two properties but not in Vehvilainen's possession

Recorder of Birmingham, Melbourne Inman QC, said: "It is to be hoped the time in custody will enable you to look and consider of what you seek to achieve, in hope you put it behind you."

Vehvilainen, of the Royal Anglian Regiment, was cleared following a trial of having a copy of a terrorist document - namely white nationalist mass murderer Anders Breivik's manifesto, the European Declaration of Independence.

Mr Panyai told the judge: "His career in the Army is over and he leaves having dishonoured himself and, what is more, having brought infamy on himself."

When the married father-of-three was arrested in September 2017, he told his wife: "I'm being arrested for being a patriot".

A 23-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also jailed for three-and-a-half years for possession of two terrorist documents and distributing another.

A third man, also of the Royal Anglians, Pte Mark Barrett, 23, of Rutland, Leicestershire, was acquitted of membership of the banned extreme far right terrorist group, National Action.

An Army spokesman said: "We expect the highest standards of behaviour from our personnel whether on or off duty.

"Anyone found to have fallen short of these standards will be dealt with administratively and can face a number of sanctions including dismissal."</s>Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

The “racist” views of an Army trainer and alleged recruiter for banned neo-Nazi group National Action do not make him a criminal, a jury has been told.

The barrister for 33-year-old Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen told jurors on Wednesday it was “not in dispute that he is a racist”.

Pavlos Panayi QC said: “It is not disputed that he has written and said things which the vast majority of people will find utterly repulsive, about black people, Jews, Muslims and lots of other minority groups.

(Image: Elizabeth Cook)

“It is not disputed he has associated with other racists, men and women, from what might be called the Far Right, that might include neo-Nazis, and other different groups of people.”

But he added that while the “groundbreaking case” would test the limits of free speech and freedom of association in Britain, Vehvilainen’s actions were not criminal.

Vehvilainen and fellow Royal Anglian Regiment soldier, 25-year-old Private Mark Barrett are both on trial accused of membership of the far-right organisation, which was banned by the government in December 2016.

Also facing the same charge at Birmingham Crown Court is a 23-year-old male who cannot be named for legal reasons, but who was described in court as a “regional leader” for the group.

The jury heard how Vehvilainen had a host lawfully held weapons including “guns, knives and crossbows” which he kept at his Army accommodation in Sennybridge Camp, Powys.

Jurors were also told he had pleaded guilty to unlawfully having a canister of CS spray among those weapons.

Addressing the jury after the prosecution’s opening speech, Mr Panayi said: “In many ways this case is unprecedented because you have heard that National Action was the first far-right group to be banned since the Second World War and this is the first prosecution arising out of that ban.

“It is a groundbreaking case.”

He added: “This case will test the limits of free speech, the freedom to say what you think and the freedom to frighten, offend and discuss.”

The QC said: “You are, in the end, going to have to determine in this case where the boundary lies between L/Cpl Mikko Vehvilainen’s right to speak freely, to think what he chooses to, and associate with others who share his views and where that boundary lies.

“Whether it crosses over into the reaches of criminal law or not.”

Vehvilainen, who is married with children, is also accused of two counts of stirring up racial hatred through posts on the US-based Christogenea.org website, where he used the name NicoChristian.

He has been further charged with possessing a document likely to be of use to terrorists – a copy of white nationalist Anders Breivik’s manifesto.

Counsel for Barrett, of Dhekalia Barracks, Cyprus, where he lived with his wife and children, also told the jury the case was “not about assessing the morality of expressing prejudicial opinions all right-minded people might recoil from”.

Colin Aylott said: “Are the hallmarks of membership truly present in what he did, and how he expressed himself?

“Ask yourself – casual racist of committed fanatic?

“Because that is the issue you have to decide in this case.”

Addressing the court on behalf of the defendant who cannot be named, barrister Christopher Knox claimed National Action “did not exist” as an organisation after it was banned.

Mr Knox said of the 23-year-old: “We will submit to you that he is no terrorist.

“He was involved with National Action and he held views which he well understands you might find really distasteful, but those are views he was, and is, entitled to hold.”

The court heard that the male had made attempts to join the Army.</s>A serving British soldier and self-confessed racist convicted of having a banned CS gas canister has been jailed.

Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, who stockpiled a host of legally held weaponry, pleaded guilty to possession of the spray, which he kept in the drawer of a home he was renovating.

The 33-year-old also kept a photograph at the property in Llansilin, Powys, Wales which showed him giving a Nazi-type salute at a memorial to his native Finland’s independence.

Sentencing him to 12 months for the offence on Friday, Judge Melbourne Inman QC, the Recorder of Birmingham, said Vehvilainen had a “long and deep-seated adherence” to racist ideology.

He added: “It is to be hoped the time in custody will enable you to look and consider of what you seek to achieve, in hope you put it behind you.”

Vehvilainen, of the Royal Anglian Regiment, was cleared following a trial on Thursday of having a copy of a terrorist document – namely white nationalist mass murderer Anders Breivik’s manifesto, the European Declaration of Independence.

In evidence, the jury was shown his stockpiles of legally held weaponry, including knives, a shotgun and bow and arrows, weapons lists, customised black spray-painted body armour and notebooks containing racist language.

He also had a box of Nazi swastika flags, another pennant pinned to his wardrobe door, and two ceremonial daggers, one inscribed with the symbol of the feared Second World War Nazi paramilitary group the SS.

The Army trainer and Afghan veteran was also cleared of two counts of stirring up racial hatred in forum posts on the website Christogenea.org.

The married father-of-three was arrested on September 5 2017 at his family accommodation at Sennybridge Camp Army base in Brecon, Powys, Wales.

When detained, he told his wife: “I’m being arrested for being a patriot”.

Pavlos Panyai QC, the soldier’s barrister, told the trial jury it was “not in dispute he a racist” but that it was not criminal, by itself, to hold such views.

In mitigation, his counsel told the judge: “His career in the Army is over and he leaves having dishonoured himself and, what is more, having brought infamy on himself.”

Mr Panayi explained how Vehvilainen’s in-laws had been staying with him during the arrest.

He said the soldier’s father-in-law suffered a stroke the following day – and died a month later – for which he “bears responsibility”.

Vehvilainen, who appeared stoic and unmoved throughout the five-week trial, appeared emotional as that fact was read to the court.

Also sentenced was a 23-year-old male, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after he was convicted at the same trial of possession of two terrorist documents and distributing another.

He was jailed for three-and-a-half years for the offences, to run concurrently.

A third man, also of the Royal Anglians, Private Mark Barrett, 23, of Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore, Rutland, Leicestershire, was acquitted of membership of the banned extreme far right terrorist group, National Action.</s>A soldier from Rutland accused of being part of a banned far-right group has been acquitted.

Private Mark Barrett, of Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore, faced a single charge of membership of National Action, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000.

The 23-year-old was found not guilty of membership of the group in a court appearance in Birmingham on Friday.

He appeared in court alongside another member of the Royal Anglian Regiment, Mikko Velvilainen and a 23-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Velvilainen. of Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, was convicted of having a banned CS gas canister, generally known as tear gas, and jailed for 12 months.

The 33-year-old who stockpiled a host of legally held weaponry, pleaded guilty to possession of the spray, which he kept in the drawer of a home he was renovating.

However, he was cleared following a trial of having a copy of a terrorist document - namely white nationalist mass murderer Anders Breivik's manifesto, the European Declaration of Independence.

The Army trainer and Afghan veteran was also cleared of two counts of stirring up racial hatred in forum posts on the website Christogenea.org.

The unnamed 23-year-old was convicted at the same trial of possession of two terrorist documents and distributing another.

He was jailed for three-and-a-half years for the offences, to run concurrently.</s>A serving British soldier and white supremacist who kept a photo of himself giving a Nazi-style salute has been cleared of a terrorism offence.

Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, who had a box of Nazi flags and a Hitler Youth knife in the garage of his barracks home, had been charged for allegedly possessing an "Anders Breivik manifesto", drawn up by the Norwegian far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in an attack in 2011.

The 33-year-old, who also kept a ceremonial SS dagger representing a Nazi paramilitary group, was also cleared of two counts of stirring up racial hatred relating to forum posts on a white nationalist website.

His lawyer, Pavlos Panayi QC, told jurors at Birmingham Crown Court that while it was "not in dispute that he is a racist", it was not a crime for Vehvilainen to hold such views.

But the married father, originally from Finland, did plead guilty to having a banned canister of CS gas, which he kept in the drawer of a home he was renovating.

The licensed firearms owner, who lived with his family at Sennybridge Camp in Brecon, also kept a number of legally-held weapons.

Eleven knives, knuckle-dusters and a face mask were found in the same container as the Nazi flags, and he kept a target dummy.

Following his arrest last September, police also found a Nazi flag pinned to the inside of his wardrobe door and a photograph of him giving a Nazi-style salute at a memorial to his native Finland's independence.

All items were legally held, the court heard.

Vehvilainen, who kept a licensed shotgun, a crossbow, and a bow and homemade arrows, had also written to two men jailed for race crimes.

He told the men "there is still hope".

The soldier was also found to have penned a draft of an extreme right-wing magazine he called Extinction, in which he railed against inter-race relationships, "unnatural" homosexuality and "non-whites".

Vehvilainen was on trial alongside 25-year-old Private Mark Barrett, also of the Royal Anglians, and formerly of Kendrew Barracks in Cottesmore, Rutland.

Barrett was acquitted of a separate charge of membership of the proscribed far-right organisation National Action.

A 23-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of having Breivik's manifesto, but convicted of three other terrorism offences.

He was found guilty of possession of a laptop "mega folder", which prosecutors said contained "step-by-step instructions" for killing people and the manufacture of explosives.

He was also convicted of having a terrorism document called the White Resistance Manual, which had entries on "arson, sabotage and selective assassinations", and of distributing a terrorist publication called Ethnic Cleansing Operations.

When the jury delivered their verdicts, he shouted: "It's a complete sham."

He and Vehvilainen, who are both in custody, will be sentenced on Friday.
An unidentified civilian is jailed for three and a half years for terror offences connected to banned neo-Nazi group National Action. Acquitted Finnish national Mikko Vehvilainen, a serving soldier in the British Army, is jailed alongside him for a weapons offence, receiving 12 months.