Kenneth McCourt was exposed by the Observer in 2019 as a member of a white nationalist group with links to a banned terrorist organisation. Despite a subsequent Department of Defense investigation, McCourt was allowed to remain in the Navy without discipline and, according to his LinkedIn profile, was promoted last November to the rank of petty officer. Three months before his promotion, a post by McCourt on the messaging app Telegram revealed he had “just joined” the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative, according to new research by the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate. On Saturday night, Navy sources said it was “highly likely” McCourt would now be removed from the service and that Police Scotland had been contacted about the matter. The revelations, however, raise concerns about the navy’s approach to countering extremism, along with fresh questions about the effectiveness of the government’s Counter-Terrorism Prevention program to which McCourt was referred after the initial allegations. The latest figures show that, in 2019, a total of 14 serving military personnel were referred to Prevent, with 11 of them motivated by far-right concerns. Last year, McCourt was promoted to petty officer as a submarine weapons technician, allowing him to work with “the UK’s most advanced defense technology”, including ballistic missile systems and potentially Trident, Britain’s nuclear deterrent. But navy sources said McCourt had refused a Covid vaccination, meaning he had not received the necessary security clearance to deploy on a submarine, despite still being paid to do so. Hope Not Hate, whose whistleblower exposed McCourt after infiltrating the UK branch of the pan-European Identitarian movement, said the navy’s failure to force the sailor to leave the service sent a message that far-right support was condoned. David Lawrence, senior researcher at Hope Not Hate, said: “The navy’s failure to take disciplinary action against McCourt when we exposed him three years ago sent a message that far-right activism would be tolerated in its ranks. “The fact that it has since turned to an even more fascist organization, one that is full of Holocaust deniers and is run by a man who recommends Mein Kampf to his audience, is disappointing but not surprising. The forces must move decisively to root out extremism whenever it is found.” In 2019, McCourt was reported to be a member of Generation Identity UK (GI UK), whose “grand replacement” ideology was a key inspiration for the Christchurch massacre and other terrorist attacks. GI UK has since collapsed, in part after the Observer pushed for its co-leader to resign after being presented with evidence that a colleague had links to neo-Nazis. However, McCourt appears to have joined the most extreme anti-Semitic organization, Patriotic Alternative, even claiming to have attended events in person. Patriotic Alternative is currently the UK’s most active fascist group with several Nazi extremists. The group’s leader, Mark Collett, has repeatedly praised Hitler and recommended Mein Kampf to his followers. Senior members of Patriotic Alternative had previously been involved with the now-banned Nazi terror group National Action, a former member of which plotted to kill an MP. Messages posted on a Telegram account belonging to McCourt claim he attended the Patriotic Alternative conference in Scotland last October, along with the hogmanay celebration. A message posted on his Telegram account last May is a repost of a video of a man firing a 3D weapon — a Glock 17 — at a fascist gym group. Another post, with anti-Semitic content, sent by the same account, reveals that the author claims to have attended a Ukip meeting in England “a few years ago” where “most of the guys there were proper nationalists and not Jewkip fans . I’m still in touch with a lot of people I met that day.” The account also used the anti-Semitic meme “echoes” to identify a Jewish person and referred to Muslims as “mutts”. Earlier this month, the account shared a post from a far-right blogger and thanked another far-right user for posting homophobic and anti-Semitic material. A Navy source said McCourt was automatically promoted because of his seniority, with the sailor himself revealing on LinkedIn that his new rank included “training subordinates.” The revelations follow a series of damaging headlines involving far-right supporters within the military, including the jailing of a British soldier who was a member of National Action. Army instructor Major General Mikko Vehvilainen tried to introduce “committed Nazis” into the organization. Another member of Patriotic Alternative Scotland – which claimed it was ready for “guerilla warfare” – has also been reported to have applied to the army reserves. When the initial reports about McCourt emerged, he was serving with another sailor who had also joined the UK GI, but it is not known if they remain in the armed forces. A Royal Navy spokesman said: “Those involved in extremist activities are fully investigated and appropriate action is taken. It would not be appropriate to comment on specific allegations.”
