At a run-of-the-mill pub in Warrington in July 2017, Jack Renshaw unveiled his twisted plot. The white supremacist planned to murder MP Rosie Cooper and Det Con Victoria Henderson, who was investigating him for child sex offences.
Sitting around the table at The Friar Penketh, a year after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, Renshaw told his associates he planned to buy a replica Roman sword and cut the throat of the two women. He would then take hostages in a pub and attempt 'suicide by cop'.
Renshaw, who was once the face of the BNP Youth, had a captive audience with members of the banned right-wing group National Action. But one man was there to betray him.
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Robbie Mullen tipped off campaign group Hope Not Hate, with journalist Matthew Collins taking on the story. Collins, a reformed neo-Nazi, had been working to prevent the radicalisation of young white men online and had been following the marches and tweets of National Action as part of his investigation.
Following Mr Mullen's tip-off, Hope Not Hate were able to alert the MP, which led to the police inquiry and Renshaw's arrest.
This autumn, a new ITV drama series The Walk-in , starring Stephen Graham, sets out to tell the true story of Renshaw's plot to murder Ms Cooper and the threat to kill Det Con Henderson. Graham plays the role of Matthew Collins as he finds himself at the centre of the counter-terror investigation which led to Renshaw being jailed for life.
It is an about turn for Graham, who is known for playing Combo, a racist skinhead in Shane Meadows' This Is England. Viewers will see Graham's character set out to identify the far-right group and publish information online to expose or fracture them.
The dramatic storyline is bound to be compelling viewing, with the first episode airing on ITV1 on Monday October 3. But for viewers in the North West it also shines a light on a terror plot which shocked the region.
Horror planning into attack
On May 10, 2019, Jack Renshaw was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years for for plotting to “replicate” the murder of Jo Cox by killing his local MP. Renshaw, 23, a convicted paedophile, bought a 19-inch Gladius knife intending to kill Ms Cooper and Det Con Henderson.
He Googled “how long to die after jugular cut” and researched Mrs Cooper’s schedule as he planned the attack. Knowing Ms Cooper was an active constituency MP, he said she was "an easy target".
Renshaw, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, was caught before he was able to carry out his sickening attacks and, in court, admitted making preparations to kill the MP and making a threat to kill Det Con Henderson. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in June 2018 to preparing an act of terrorism.
Mrs Justice McGowan told him: “This is a case in which only a sentence of life imprisonment can meet the appalling seriousness of your offending.
"You praised the murder of Jo Cox in tweets and posts in June 2017 and in some bizarre way you saw this as a commendable act and set out to replicate that behaviour. Your perverted view of history and current politics has caused you to believe it right to demonise groups simply because they are different from you.”
During the same trial, two other men, Christopher Lythgoe and Matthew Hankinson, were convicted of remaining members of National Action after it was banned by Ms Rudd. However, jurors were unable to decide whether Renshaw had remained a member.
He was previously jailed for 16 months after he groomed two underage boys online, following an investigation led by Det Con Henderson. He had also received a three-year prison sentence two months earlier for stirring up racial hatred after he called for the genocide of Jewish people.
History of far right wing groups
Before National Action was outlawed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, in December 2016, Renshaw said he was sympathetic to Adolf Hitler. His involvement in right wing groups began in Blackpool, where aged 15 he joined the BNP.
He later joined the English Defence League (EDL) which gathered momentum in the resort following the disappearance of Charlene Downes in 2003, as the group sought to blame Arab and Asian takeaway workers for the schoolgirl's disappearance.
He said a race war was 'inevitable and we must be prepared to fight the war.' and believed Rosie Cooper, as a member of the Labour Party, was responsible for mass immigration. Murdering Ms Cooper would "strike a blow against the state" and show that “no matter how passive a dog may be if you beat it for long enough it bites”, he said.
As Renshaw was led to the cells, he raised his arm in a Nazi salute as a supporter in the public gallery shouted: “We’re with you, Jack.”
In a victim impact statement read by Duncan Atkinson QC, prosecuting, Rosie Cooper MP said the plot against her was like “something out of a horror movie” and caused some of her staff to leave their jobs. Det Con Henderson added in a statement: “I had sleepless nights until Renshaw was arrested as I was convinced he would be able to find me.”
Will Chatterton, head of investigations for counter terrorism policing in the North West, said the jail term reflected “the vile and shocking nature” of Renshaw’s views and plans. He described Renshaw’s Nazi salute in court as a “vile and disrespectful act which demonstrates the fact that he’s a dangerous individual who still holds appalling and extreme views”.
Jenny Hopkins, from the CPS, said Renshaw “was prepared to act on his white supremacist world view” with a plan “reminiscent of the abhorrent murder of Jo Cox”.
This week Ms Cooper stepped down from her role as MP for West Lancs after 17 years to take on a new role in the NHS. When explaining her reasons for applying for the new role, Ms Cooper cited events that have 'undoubtedly taken their toll' on her over the last few years.
The first episode of The Walk-in airs at 9pm on Monday October 3.
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