3rd June 2009
ANTI-TERROR police were last night questioning a North-East father and son arrested on suspicion of involvement with a white supremacist group.
Ian and Nicky Davison were arrested after officers carried out raids at their homes at about 5am yesterday.
The pair are suspected of being involved with a racist far right organisation.
Police sealed off the home of Ian Davison, at Myrtle Grove, in Burnopfield, County Durham, as they conducted a search of the property. His car was also removed for forensic analysis.
Detectives said last night the raids were part of a long-running operation designed to disrupt extremist groups operating in the UK.
Neighbours told of their shock after the arrest of the 41- year-old former lorry driver.
His next-door neighbour, a father- of-two, said: “The police woke me going into the house at 5am. I heard a commotion and thought there was a fight.
“I looked out and saw the police going in. I heard a lot of banging and shouting but couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“I saw a couple of police officers by the front gate and one around the back. Another was looking in the garden bin.
“I have seen about 25 police officers coming and going with all the forensics.
“My neighbour’s car, a white Metro, was taken away by the specialist recovery unit.
“In his back yard, the forensic team moved his motorbike out and lots of junk from his shed.”
A 25-year-old woman, who lives nearby, said: “I thought he was a nice fella.
“We talked sometimes, but he was quiet.
“From the sort of person he seemed to be, I didn’t think he would hurt a fly.”
Mr Davison was detained on suspicion of offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 and is being questioned by Durham officers and the North-East Counter Terrorism Unit at a police station in West Yorkshire.
Stuart Slater, 19, of Maple Terrace, also expressed his surprise at the drama.
He said: “When I saw the police outside the gate I thought there had been a murder or something.
“People get on around here, and it is a nice quiet place.
There is never normally any trouble.
“It is mad to think of this sort of thing happening on your doorstep.”
Milkman Nicky Davison, 18, was arrested at Grampian Court, Annfield Plain, on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. He was taken to Consett police station for questioning.
The teenager lives at the property with his mother, two brothers and a sister.
Chief Inspector Stu Exley said he could not give details of the nature of the activity the Davisons were suspected of being involved in, or the name of the extremist group.
He said: “There is no specified or identified threat.
“We are nipping things in the bud before anything does escalate further. We are trying to respond in a proactive manner.
“There were no identified groups targeted and no specified threats. But it is the white supremacist kind of rightwing extremism.”
Chief Insp Exley said there was no connection to the upcoming European elections.
He added: “We are just following inquiries that have been going on for several months.”
Source: www.thenorthernecho.co.uk, 3rd June 2009
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