Man who teaches children martial arts arrested for suspected terror offences

Stock image - credit Wiltshire 999s

A martial arts instructor is understood to have been arrested for being part of a neo-Nazi group.

The Swindon man, who may have been part of the organisation National Action, worked at Total Martial Arts and taught children, according to a source.

Wiltshire Police confirmed that a letter was sent out to parents of children who attend the martial arts school, asking them if they were concerned about their child being radicalised.

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The martial arts school called parents to warn them ahead of the letter being sent out.

In late September, it was reported in the national press that one man from Wiltshire was arrested on suspicion of terror offences during a major crackdown.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “Following a recent national investigation a private letter to parents was written asking them if they had any concerns regarding radicalisation.

“This letter was issued as part of a long term safeguarding strategy. The investigation is still ongoing and we are unable to comment further.”

We approached Total Martial Arts for comment earlier this month via an email form on their website and a text message, but we didn’t receive a reply.

This evening, following our report being published, they released this statement via their Facebook page: “This instructor was asked to leave Total Martial Arts (TMA) as soon as we learned of his arrest and we have been co-operating with the police and the local authority in their investigation and in making the decision on how to inform our students.

“We were shocked and appalled to learn of the potential extremist views held by this individual and had absolutely no idea that they held these views or of their potential involvement in any organisation that share or promote them.

“We at TMA totally distance ourselves from such views and have no connection to them. We do not condone such ideologies and they couldn’t be further from our culture at TMA.

“The safety and security of our junior students is paramount and we have a zero tolerance policy on any behaviour that may promote the wrong image or bring our academy into disrepute. Any such behaviour would result in the removal of the individual from our academy.”

Wiltshire Police say their investigation is currently ongoing.

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