Warwickshire Man Jailed Over Far-Right Hate Posts, Wales 2026

Key Points

• A Warwickshire man has received a jail sentence of two years for committing 12 public order offences involving threatening messages online.
• Thomas Webster, aged 29, of Lapworth, pleaded guilty to offences committed involving racial, religious, and homophobic hate.
• The offences involved posts made in six different social media profiles between September 2024 and September 2025.
• According to Crown Prosecution Service, Webster spread white supremacist ideologies and violence towards people based on their race, religion, and sexuality.
• Webster belonged to a far-right extremist organization known as the Patriotic Alternative and featured in a BBC Wales documentary.
• Webster was fired from HM Revenue and Customs in February 2025 following an internal disciplinary process.
• Following information from the BBC documentary, Counter Terrorism Policing launched an investigation.
• Webster was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court and will serve one year in prison, and a further year on licence.
• As per the judge, even though opportunities were provided to Webster to show his remorse, imprisonment was deemed necessary in this case.
• The police and prosecution service have stressed that this case highlights that online threats and encouragement of violence may lead to prosecution.

Wales (Wales Times) September 18, 2026 — Warwickshire man jailed after admitting to publishing threatening and offensive online material intended to stir up racial, religious and homophobic hatred. Thomas Webster, 29, of Yew Tree Close, Lapworth, was sentenced to two years at Warwick Crown Court after pleading guilty to 12 public-order offences.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the offences included 10 counts of publishing written material intended to stir up racial hatred and two counts involving threatening material intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of religion or sexual orientation. The material was posted through six social-media accounts during a 12-month period between September 2024 and September 2025.

The case followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing in the West Midlands. Police said Webster came to their attention after he appeared in a BBC Wales documentary that examined the activities of a far-right group. The programme, broadcast in January 2025, featured an undercover journalist who spent a year investigating the group and recorded Webster expressing extreme views.

The police said the documentary included footage of Webster discussing the creation of video guides about different races and how they could be exploited. Information from the programme was subsequently passed to counter-terrorism officers, who began examining Webster’s online activity.

Which offences did Thomas Webster admit?

The CPS said Webster admitted 12 offences relating to material published online. Ten charges concerned the publication of written material intended to stir up racial hatred. The remaining two involved threatening words or behaviour intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of religion or sexual orientation.

The BBC reported that some of the posts expressed a desire for violence against Jewish, Muslim, black, South Asian and LGBTQ+ people. The broadcaster said Webster had described himself in online material as “the ultimate genocidal racist monster” and had made statements calling for people he regarded as racial enemies to be killed or become extinct.

The BBC also reported that Webster said he wanted Muslim people to become “globally extinct” and made comments about Jewish and gay people being tortured and executed. Another post reportedly stated that, if a migrant hotel were built near his home, he would “prepare for murder and prison time”.

These details were reported by Wyre Davies, Paul Heaney and Ben Summer of BBC Wales Investigates in coverage of the sentencing at Warwick Crown Court. The BBC said some of the material referred to in its report was not included in the charges, although it was part of the wider picture surrounding the investigation.

The CPS said Webster had used multiple accounts on X and Substack. Some older accounts had already been closed by social-media platforms for breaches of rules relating to hateful conduct and violent speech.

How did the BBC investigation lead to the case?

The BBC documentary, titled Unmasked: Extreme Far Right, examined the activities of Patriotic Alternative, a far-right organisation. Webster was filmed at events associated with the group in 2024, including a summer camp, according to the BBC.

The broadcaster reported that Webster presented himself as a white totalitarianist and spoke about a society in which white people would become the default human race. It also reported that he described himself as someone who sought trouble and made violent comments about non-white people.

The BBC said police later linked Webster to a number of social-media accounts, mainly on X, after reviewing evidence gathered during the investigation. Officers arrested him in September 2025 and used material from his phone and computer to confirm that the accounts belonged to him.

Counter Terrorism Policing said the investigation involved a large quantity of social-media material. Officers said they selected charges that reflected the nature of the offending while dealing with the volume of evidence identified during the inquiry.

Detective Chief Superintendent Alison Hurst, head of Counter Terrorism Policing in the West Midlands, said the sentence should send a message that extreme racist views and the promotion of serious violence would not be tolerated. She also thanked the BBC for the documentary and the information it provided to investigators.

Why was Webster dismissed by HMRC?

Webster had worked for HM Revenue and Customs. The CPS said he had boasted about discriminating against non-white people through his work at the department.

The BBC reported that Webster had been filmed discussing the deliberate provision of poor information to non-white people. HMRC said it treated breaches of its standards extremely seriously and had robust processes for investigating concerns.

In a statement included in the BBC’s report, HMRC said the individual concerned had been dismissed following an internal disciplinary process and ceased to be employed by the department in February 2025.

The CPS also said Webster’s membership of Patriotic Alternative formed part of the background to the case. The organisation is described in the CPS account as a far-right fascist group.

What did police find during the investigation?

The BBC reported that Warwick Crown Court heard Webster had previously been referred to the government’s Prevent programme four times. The first referral was reportedly made in 2017 because of his association with a far-right group.

The court also heard that police found a crossbow in the attic of Webster’s property. According to the BBC, it remained in its original wrapping. The presence of the item was reported as part of the evidence heard during sentencing, although the charges in the case related to online material.

The BBC further reported that additional posts remained visible on social media after Webster pleaded guilty. Some of those posts were not included in the charges. After the broadcaster contacted X, the company removed the material but did not provide a further comment, according to the report.

Days before sentencing, BBC News also identified what it described as another active Substack account appearing to belong to Webster. The account reportedly discussed his arrest and included further comments about race. Substack later confirmed that the account had been banned after the BBC contacted the company.

The BBC reported that some of the material appeared to have been posted despite bail conditions limiting Webster’s use of the internet and preventing him from communicating through social media.

What did the court hear about Webster’s background?

Webster’s defence lawyer, Susan Guest, told the court that he had experienced long-standing difficulties with social interaction and anxiety. She said he had become increasingly isolated and that his views had been reinforced rather than challenged by people online.

Guest described Webster as having lived in an online “bubble”. She said that bubble had subsequently ended and that he now had to take responsibility for his actions.

The prosecution described the material as extensive. Jamie Scott, prosecuting, said the Crown Prosecution Service had taken a proportionate approach in selecting the 12 offences but asked the court to recognise that there was a larger body of similar material.

Frank Ferguson, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Webster had repeatedly published distressing, offensive and violent statements. Ferguson said the material was intended to make people hate those being targeted and to cause them fear.

The CPS prosecutor said the case went beyond a debate about freedom of speech because it involved expressions of a wish for people to be killed and encouragement for others to express similar views.

What sentence did Thomas Webster receive?

Judge Anthony Potter sentenced Webster to two years in custody at Warwick Crown Court. The BBC reported that Webster would serve half of the sentence in prison, with the remaining year served on licence.

The judge said Webster had been given numerous opportunities to demonstrate remorse and change his behaviour. He concluded that there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community and that a custodial sentence was necessary.

The CPS said the sentence covered the 12 offences to which Webster had pleaded guilty. Police said he had first appeared at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on August 5, where he entered his guilty pleas.

The Counter Terrorism Policing account said Webster had admitted two offences involving threatening words or behaviour intended to stir up hatred: one on the grounds of sexual orientation and another on the grounds of religion. The CPS account additionally set out the full breakdown of the sentence, including the 10 racial-hatred offences.

How have prosecutors and police responded?

The CPS said the case showed that people who promote, encourage or condone violence against others could face prosecution. Ferguson said the law was concerned not only with what an individual might do personally, but also with what that person might encourage others to do through published words.

Detective Chief Superintendent Hurst said policing and security partners continued to work to protect the public from terrorism and related threats. Counter Terrorism Policing urged members of the public to report concerns through the UK government’s Act Early reporting route. It said emergencies should always be reported by calling 999.

The police statement also thanked the BBC for its documentary and the evidence that assisted the investigation. The broadcaster’s reporting therefore formed an important part of the chain of events leading to the police inquiry, although the criminal case itself was based on evidence gathered and charges brought by the authorities.

Background to the development

The case arose from the intersection of investigative journalism, online hate speech and counter-terrorism policing. Webster was recorded during a BBC investigation into a far-right group, after which information was passed to Counter Terrorism Policing in the West Midlands.

Police then examined social-media accounts linked to him and identified material posted over approximately 12 months. The Crown Prosecution Service brought 12 charges covering racial hatred and threats connected with religion and sexual orientation. Webster pleaded guilty and was later sentenced at Warwick Crown Court.

The case also involved Webster’s employment at HMRC. The department dismissed him in February 2025 after an internal disciplinary process. The BBC, police and CPS each reported different aspects of the case: the BBC focused on the investigation and court evidence; Counter Terrorism Policing described the police inquiry; and the CPS set out the charges, prosecution position and employment consequences.counterterrorism+2

What could this development mean for social-media users and communities?

The sentence is likely to reinforce the position that online publication does not place threatening or hate-driven material outside the reach of criminal law. For social-media users, the case demonstrates that posts made through multiple accounts can be examined together when investigators believe they are connected to the same person.

It may also encourage platforms, journalists and members of the public to report material that appears to promote violence or stir up hatred. The case shows that information first identified through journalism can be passed to police, where it may contribute to a wider criminal investigation.

For communities targeted by racist, religious or homophobic abuse, the development may provide reassurance that serious online threats can be investigated and prosecuted. However, the sentence does not mean that every offensive or controversial post automatically amounts to a criminal offence. The CPS case concerned material that prosecutors said involved threatening language and an intention to stir up hatred, with the final decision determined through the courts.

For public bodies and employers, the case may also underline the importance of internal procedures for dealing with alleged extremist conduct and breaches of professional standards. HMRC’s dismissal of Webster before the criminal sentence shows that employment action and criminal proceedings can proceed separately, under different rules and evidential standards.