Former Cambridge University maths student, 23, ‘had bombmaking manual, discussed exterminating Jewish people and said only 200,000 died in the Holocaust’
- Oliver Bel, 23, allegedly called for the extermination of all Jewish people
- Cambridge graduate possessed bomb-making manual the Anarchist Cookbook
- He denied terror charge, claiming his interest in the book was ‘academic’
- Bel had allegedly made contact with members of neo-Nazi group National Action
- He was also accused of claiming 200,000, not 6million, perished in Holocaust
A Cambridge University graduate who allegedly described himself as a National Socialist and called for the extermination of all Jewish people was in possession of a banned bomb-making manual, a court was told today.
Anti-terror police raiding Oliver Bel’s home found Nazi memorabilia – but were shocked when the maths student boasted: ‘I have got more extremist material than that, I have got the Anarchist Cookbook’, a jury heard.
The book, which was first published in the US in 1971 amid protests against the Vietnam War, contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives as well as the home manufacture of illegal drugs including LSD.
The 23-year-old, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, denies a charge under the Terrorism Act, claiming that his interest in the manual was just ‘academic’.
However, prosecutors at Manchester Crown Court alleged Bel ‘harboured and possibly still does harbour extreme Right-wing views’, the Oldham Times reported.
Anti-terror cops raiding Oliver Bel’s home found SS memorabilia but were shocked when he allegedly boasted: ‘I’ve got more extremist material than that, I’ve got the Anarchist Cookbook’
The 23-year-old, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, denies a charge under the Terrorism Act, claiming that he his interest in the manual was ‘academic’
Joe Allman, prosecuting, told the court: ‘This case concerns Mr Bel buying and keeping a manual of terrorism, the Anarchist Cookbook.
‘That book contains information which was likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.’
He said it contained information on how to make Gelignite and Nitroglycerin and said ‘both of these substances are highly explosive.’
Counter-terror police were first made aware of Bel after he defended Hitler online, and was later visited by officers from the Prevent programme.
Jurors heard the Cambridge graduate, who studied maths at Pembroke College, had made contact with members of proscribed neo-Nazi group National Action in 2016 and expressed a belief in ‘preserving racial superiority’.
However, prosecutors at Manchester Crown Court (pictured) alleged that Bel ‘harboured and possibly still does harbour extreme Right-wing views’
Bel had declared himself a National Socialist and had held Jews responsible for ‘the communist revolution and pretty much every other progressive movement since then’, Mr Allman told Manchester Crown Court.
Bel had allegedly called for the ‘extermination’ of the Jewish people and had claimed 200,000 – not six million – Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust.
He had also allegedly expressed a desire to go on a ‘spree’ and said he had ‘lost a homosexual friend because of my views on his behaviour, good riddance’.
Representing Bel, defence counsel Abigail Bright today told the court that a person can have a reasonable excuse for possessing material under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act if it was for academic interest.
The trial, before Judge Alan Conrad QC, continues.