A neo-Nazi group has been found to be preparing for a race war with fighting camps. Vanguard Britannica, which was founded as a small group in 2022 in Leicestershire and has since expanded by allying with white supremacist groups in Britain and the United States, has also carried out combat training to prepare its members to take part in political violence.
Propaganda films feature masked men fighting in fields, kickboxing and taking part in fitness drills. Training programmes have taken place in London, the Midlands, East Anglia and Scotland. After being established, members targeted areas with Jewish and ethnic minority populations with racist stickers and vandalism.
In 2024, an alliance was formed with America’s most prominent neo-Nazi group, Patriotic Front. Relations were also begun with Active Club England (ACE), which portrays itself as a fitness association but venerates Adolf Hitler.
Labour Against Antisemitism carried out research into Vanguard Britannica.
Its co-director, Alex Hearn, told The Telegraph: “The fight training camps and workshops with prominent white nationalist groups around the world suggest Vanguard Britannica could be preparing for increased political or racial violence.
“They exploit anti-immigration sentiment in their motorway banner drops and sticker campaigns, but the true objectives of these white nationalists are far more sinister – racial purity.”
The Government reported in December that in the last year to March 2025, there were 106 religious hate crimes against Jews per 10,000 population.
Officials described this as “the highest rate for any group by some distance”.
They added: “All forms of antisemitism have the same impact: fear, isolation, a breakdown of trust between communities, and normalisation of extremist views.
“Not only is antisemitism morally unacceptable, but it is a threat to the fabric of this nation.
“The UK has a strong history of being an open and tolerant society, where people of all backgrounds can live and work together. We must work hard to defend our values and uphold the country we want to be.”