Exclusive: Following the conviction of Ben Hannam for membership of National Action, an investigation by The Independent has now revealed inconsistencies in the way different police forces screen new recruits for extremism and racism https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nazis-police-hannam-vetting-extremism-b1832567.html

The Met Police's application and vetting forms became a key issue in Hannam's trial. The force accused him of lying but he maintained he answered questions honestly

He was able to pass checks and interview despite being part of a banned National Action offshoot at the time

Hannam was convicted of fraud for answering no when asked if he was or had ever been “a member of the BNP or similar organisations whose aims, objectives or pronouncements may contradict the duty to promote race equality”

The Met Police and other forces still use that question

But on the application form for constables, other regional forces only ask people to declare that they are “not a current, or previous, member of a proscribed terrorist organisation”

That's the nationally recommended quesiton for the ongoing scheme to recruit 20,000 new officers

So in some places you can hypothetically get through the first stage if you *are* a member of a terrorist group but *not* a BNP-like group, and in others you can be a member of anything that isn't banned by the government

Separate vetting forms then vary again from area to area

Shadow home secretary @NickTorfaen said the Hannam case shows the system "has potentially dangerous weaknesses", calling for "urgent revisions"

Stand Up to Racism said: “It’s not good enough to ask people if they are racists, and then if they turn out to be racist say they lied"

The College of Policing said police forces were permitted to make changes to national forms in order to “take local issues and demands into account”

They said there is a "full and detailed vetting process" by dedicated units that goes beyond the forms