UK neo-Nazis who named son after Hitler guilty of terror offence

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AFP
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Adam Thomas, 22, and Claudia Patatas, 38, from south England, were charged along with Daniel Bogunovic, 27, from Leicester with being members of banned group National Action-Independent 

LONDON: A couple who gave their son the middle name Adolf in honour of Hitler were on Monday convicted of being members of a British neo-Nazi terrorist group.

Adam Thomas, 22, and Claudia Patatas, 38, from Banbury in south England, were charged along with Daniel Bogunovic, 27, from Leicester in central England with being members of banned group National Action (NA).

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court in central England reached a unanimous verdict after being shown photographs of Thomas wearing Ku Klux Klan robes while holding his baby.

Thomas claimed the photographs were "just play" but also told the court he was a racist.

Prosecutors said Thomas had a "fanatical and tribal belief in white supremacy".

The neo-Nazi group was founded in 2013 and outlawed three years later after it celebrated the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by a Nazi sympathiser in northern England.

Intercepted Skype messages showed that Thomas rejected attempts by leaders to disband the group.

"The Midlands branch of NA, which is just 17-20 of us, have decided to ignore this and we´ve renamed ourselves the Thule Combat League," he wrote.

The jury is still considering another count alleging Thomas had a copy of terrorist manual the Anarchist Cookbook.