"How My Mother's Battle with Cancer Led Me Down a 20-Year Path as a Neo-Nazi Recruiter"

RACING out the school gates 15-year-old Nigel Bromage was handed a leaflet by a stranger with a shocking image on the front that changed his life forever.

It showed the charred body of a victim of one of the in England and sent the down a destructive path filled with hate and violence.

Nigel Bromage spent 20 years as a far-right extremist and neo-Nazi before reforming his ways and helping thousands Credit: BPM Nigel during his days as a neo-Nazi, posing in front of an Ulster Voluntary Force mural Credit: Exit Hate UK

Nigel, now 60, describes accepting that leaflet as “a mistake I’ll regret forever” because it played a crucial part in radicalising him to become a and extreme far right recruiter for 20 years.

Deeply embedded in its grips, he fought for “white-only enclaves”, attacked left wing activists, co-founded dangerous groups and was preparing for a race war.

In 1999, Nigel left after growing disillusioned and breaking up a racist attack on a black father, in front of his crying wife and children. Since then he has committed his life to saving others.

He founded Exit Hate UK and Small Steps – charities that help people escape extremism – but fears the “scary time” in the UK, where dangerous far right grooming is on the rise.

Nigel has advised local , mayors and even TV dramas including , which won two awards, and drama Screws.

“I’ve spent my life trying to put back into the system that I tried to destroy for so many years,” he tells The Sun.

Nigel was a “foot soldier” in a far-right fascist group, which recruited for those with “strong, hardcore Nazi ideologies”.

Their members committed violent acts including the 1995 Lansdowne Road riot, which saw a versus match .

Nigel believes many who fall into extremism are groomed and radicalised by cunning, well-rehearsed predators.

He says: “Most people involved in extremism are victims, not monsters. There are reasons they get involved and often it’s not hatred of others but their own personal circumstances.

Terror attack, the Halle shooting in Germany, in 2019, was carried out by Combat 18 Credit: Reuters Alice Cutter, 23, was jailed for being part of prosecribed far-right terrorist group National Action Credit: PA

“The far right are so good at what they do, they look at that vulnerability and tailor their recruitment so that you simply take it all in and then manipulate that concern or worry.”

For Nigel, the weak spot they manipulated was his mother’s terminal cancer battle and then his heartache for the family of a mum killed in an , which he saw on a leaflet.

Nigel says: “I couldn’t stop thinking about her not being able to go home to her children and husband, they used a photo of the charred body of a victim and it stirred an anger inside me.

“There was a call for action that said, ‘If you think it’s wrong, do something about it’. Taking that leaflet was the biggest mistake I ever made.”

At a meeting, Nigel recalls members being “nice and friendly” and encouraging him to be anti-IRA, anti-terrorist, and proud to be British.

“It was all part of the grooming process that you don’t see,” he says.

“It opened the door to hate and it all happened when I was at my most vulnerable while my mum was dying.

“The far right used that vulnerability and my issues to get me to commit more to the organisation and I absolutely did.”

They told him the the was unable to afford his mother’s cancer treatment due to sending money abroad to and other countries, which led him to become Xenophobic.

Nigel explains: “I was 15 and very vulnerable. I felt angry about money sent outside the UK while my mum was stuck in bed or sitting on a commode, slowly dying from cancer.

A football match between England and the Republic of Ireland in 1995 had to be abandoned due to the behaviour of some supporters Credit: Getty German politician Walter Lübcke was shot dead by a Combat 18 member Credit: Alamy

“This was the beginning of the grooming process that led me to become a racist then after reading neo-Nazi propaganda I believed the only way forward was direct action.”

Nigel went from “naive teenager” to vocal supporter and then far right National Front “foot soldier”, who clashed with opponents at demos and spread propaganda.

He set up extremist bands and later “became really active” in Nazi groups the National Socialists and British Movement, even organising meetings and events.

“I was 100 per cent committed to the cause and would do anything for it,” Nigel says.

It forged him into a dangerous xenophobic, racist and white supremacist neo-Nazi, who recruited and organised action against the left and powerless minority groups.

“Instead of trying to hide my beliefs and saying ‘I’m a nationalist’, I would say, ‘I am a Nazi and I support Adolf Hitler,’” Nigel adds.

“It led to my belief in trying to create ‘white enclaves’ all the way to attacking left wing opponents at demonstrations and believing the only way forward was a race war.

“I absolutely believed a race war was coming and I was preparing myself and others for it.”

Nigel networked with neo-Nazis in the UK, and , joined white supremacy group Church of the Creator and was heavily involved with terrorist group Combat 18.

In 2019, they were banned in after politician Walter Lübcke was fatally shot and the Halle Synagogue shooting by their members, which killed two and injured two others.

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies was the target of a foiled Combat 18-linked mail bomb plot Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Pictures like this are used in propaganda for neo-Nazis and the extreme far right

Combat 18 was also behind the 1995 Lansdowne Road riots that saw such violence erupt that the game between England and Ireland had to be abandoned.

Years later, 60 Sunderland AFC – many Combat 18 members – were charged in 1998 after letting off a military issue smoke bomb in a pub after a row with a bouncer.

There was also a foiled letter bomb campaign, by a Danish Nazi group linked to them. They tried to send explosives to athlete Sharron Davies, Anti-Fascist Action in , magazine Highlander and the mailbox of Combat 18.

The latter was due to a falling out in the terror group that led to co-founder Charlie Sargant and white power rocker Martin Cross killing member ‘Catford Chris’ Castle with a nine-inch blade in 1997. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Those incidents “destroyed any belief in brotherhood” among the extreme far right groups for Nigel. He was also concerned by their increasingly violent tactics before another attack cemented his decision to leave.

Nigel turned his back on extremism in 1999 after leaving a Combat 18 meeting to find members brawling with a black man, who had called out their neo-Nazi badges.

“It was really lucky timing,” he says. “This gentleman was getting pushed and shoved and a lot of racist language was being used. They were going to throw him through a shop window.

“I saw his wife and children crying in the bus stop and thought, ‘Do I walk away and let them hurt this guy?’ but something happened inside of me.”

Nigel realised he had become an “advocate for violence” and achieved “nothing apart from causing anger, hurt and inflicting pain”. They were nothing but “a gang of racist thugs”.

“I stepped in and said, ‘To get to him, you’ve got to go through me,’” he recalls.

Nigel now helps thousands through his charities Exit Hate UK and Small Steps Credit: Exit Hate UK The extreme far right thugs used IRA bombings to lure Nigel to their cause Credit: Hulton Archive – Getty

“I managed to stop it and get the family away in the cab.

“If I walked out two minutes later, that gentleman could have been on the floor seriously hurt. That was the reality of that life.

“I felt absolutely numb and knew I had to get out but it was difficult. They knew where I lived and all of my friends were neo-Nazis.”

His only solution was moving to London for a couple of years, which allowed him to rethink who he was and rebuild his life away from the stranglehold of extremism.

Nigel cut-off all contact from them in a bid to change his life.

Speaking about others who try to leave, he says some organisations play “good cop, bad cop” or try to lure them back into the fold with friendship.

“Some will say, ‘This is a war, you’re a soldier, you don’t just walk away. You were told this was for life,’” Nigel adds.

This pressure and isolation, having lost their whole friendship group, often leads people to return “because it’s all they know” – and is why Nigel believes support and help is vital.

“Extremist groups offer loyalty and brotherhood,” he says. “You need to find something else for them to fill the eight hours a day that they used to spend looking at bile.

“They need something to fill that void, whether that’s interests in nature, supporting football teams and other social activities to help them see the other side.”

Rhianan Rudd, who was groomed to be a neo-Nazi at 14, took her own life Credit: Supplied Neo-Nazi Alice Cutter, seen holding a gun, was jailed for being in a banned group Credit: SWNS:South West News Service

Nigel has dedicated his life to charity Exit Hate UK and Small Steps, which have helped 1,000 people in nine years, trained nearly 11,000 people and helped in scores of schools.

They have advised local councils, London mayor and Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, and Hollyoaks on a 12-month storyline that won Best Soap at the 2020 Broadcast Awards and Scene of the Year at the 2022 .

But it has all come at a cost. Nigel has had to move three times due to “threats of violence” toward him and his family. They now have two protection dogs too.

Nigel says received messages like “snitches get stitches”, “watch your back” and “we know where you live” and no longer lives in the greater Birmingham area.

“It’s a shame, but thankfully I have a strong family and friends who absolutely support what we do 100 per cent,” he says.

Nigel warns the UK is facing a “scary time” due to extreme far right members resorting to “old school recruitment tactics” – word of mouth at pubs, cafes and seemingly innocent charity events.

They are looking for so-called “quality individuals” who will take action – typically, working class and middle class white men, who are university educated and feel “left behind or forgotten about”.

There the groups vet them – checking passports, student IDs and their background – before adding them to a private chat group only accessible by a QR code.

Nigel adds: “This really concerns us because nobody knows what’s being spoken about other than the members of the groups

“It could be philosophy, criminal activity or direct action and because it’s a private group, there’s no chance to offer alternatives.

Nigel seen during his time as an extremist Credit: Exit Hate UK

“These people are trapped in a world with no escape, which often leads them into getting trouble with the police and harming victims of hate or themselves.”

These extremists are also targeting women, typically aged 15 to 30, who worry about their safety, and young children as young as nine.

They include Alice Cutter, 23, jailed three years for being part of a banned neo-Nazi group, who .

And , who killed herself after being groomed from the age of 14. She and spoke of plotting a on her 16th birthday.

But Nigel also insists there is hope and that it’s important to engage with radicals rather than pushing them away and thus further into the embrace of extremism.

“When I speak to them, I try to show these people they are wasting their lives,” he says. “All forms of extremism are wrong and it doesn’t achieve anything.

“In the last 100 years, there has been no influence and no MPs. When you’re in that bubble you forget the damage you do to yourself, your family and those you care about.

“It’s important not to give up. Some people may have horrific opinions but they can change, walk away and put back into society to try to repair some of the damage they have caused.”

Find out more about Nigel Bromage and his organisation Exit Hate UK here .