A man from Stafford has admitted to terrorism-related charges after encouraging violence against migrants, Leicester crown court heard on Tuesday. Ivan Jennings, 46, pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism between August 15 and November 14, 2024. The charge was considered part of wider extremist activity linked to far-right ideology.

Jennings previously admitted to disseminating a terrorist publication, specifically a manifesto written by Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist responsible for the 2011 terror attacks that claimed 77 lives. Prosecutors revealed that Jennings was active in multiple extreme right-wing social media groups where he urged others to follow the example set by Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white nationalist who killed 51 people in mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

Evidence presented at earlier hearings indicated that Jennings discussed the use of incendiary devices and explicitly called for “killing migrants when they arrive on their boats,” according to prosecutor Lee Ingham. Despite this, Jennings denies possession of a document for terrorist purposes, namely Tarrant’s manifesto titled The Great Replacement, though the court decided to leave that count on file ahead of his sentencing, scheduled for September 4 at Leicester crown court. Jennings is currently on conditional bail.

The case comes amid heightened concerns about the national terrorism threat level, which the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised from “substantial” to “severe” last month. The Home Office cited a growing threat from both Islamist and extreme right-wing extremists operating within the UK, stemming from individuals and small groups.

Government data for the year ending March 2025 highlights a sharp increase in referrals to the Prevent programme, which aims to identify and intervene in cases of radicalisation. The number of referrals rose 27% compared to the previous year, reaching 8,778—the highest annual figure since the programme’s inception a decade ago. Of the cases with a specified ideology, 21% (1,798 referrals) involved concerns related to extreme right-wing extremism, while 10% (870 referrals) were linked to Islamist extremism. The remaining 56% (4,917 referrals) involved individuals without an identified ideological motivation.

Jennings’s admission underscores ongoing challenges confronting UK authorities as they seek to address the evolving threats posed by extremist groups across the ideological spectrum.