--- description: The four were arrested on suspicion of being involved in National Action, a nazi group banned under the U.K's anti-terror laws. title: U.K. Soldiers Held Over Alleged Links to Banned Terror Group image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Four British Soldiers Arrested Over Involvement in a Banned Nazi Terror Group by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 6, 2017 2:30 AM CUT by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 6, 2017 2:30 AM CUT Four active duty members of the British Army have been arrested, under the country’s anti-terror laws, on alleged involvement in a banned neo-nazi group. Along with a fifth person, a civilian, they are suspected of being members of National Action, the first far-right group to be banned in the U.K. for promoting violence and terrorist acts, [reports](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41161233 "undefined") BBC News. Police said that no public safety threat was involved. “We can confirm that a number of serving members of the Army have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for being associated with a proscribed far-right group,” a spokesperson for the British Army told the BBC. One of the arrested soldiers was detained in a U.K. military base in Cyprus, reports the BBC, while the others were being held in a police station in West Midlands. National Action is described by anti-terror officials as “explicitly neo-Nazi.” British Home Secretary Amber Rudd [called](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/12/neo-nazi-group-national-action-banned-by-uk-home-secretary "undefined") it “a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organization” when she announced its ban last December. Being members of a proscribed group, or merely inviting support for one, carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment in the U.K. if convicted, the BBC says. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41161233 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4928606/british-army-national-action-nazi-arrest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4928606/british-army-national-action-nazi-arrest/"},"headline":"Four British Soldiers Arrested Over Involvement in a Banned Nazi Terror Group","datePublished":"2017-09-06T02:30:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:17:53.092Z","description":"They are allegedly part of National Action, described by anti-terror officials as \"explicitly neo-Nazi\"","url":"https://time.com/4928606/british-army-national-action-nazi-arrest/","keywords":["United Kingdom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4928606/british-army-national-action-nazi-arrest/","name":"Four British Soldiers Arrested Over Involvement in a Banned Nazi Terror Group"}}]}] ```