South Yorkshire far-right terrorist could be released from prison later this year

A far-right terrorist from South Yorkshire, who made a pipe bomb in his Nazi memorabilia-filled bedroom could be freed within months despite his bid for early release being rejected.

Jack Coulson, from Mexborough, was jailed for four years and eight months for making a pipe bomb and downloading a bomb-making manual in 2018.

Leeds Crown Court heard how the 19-year-old downloaded the 60-page manual – which describes how to make and detonate explosives – on his phone after boasting about wanting to kill a female MP.

Coulson was not named in reports of his pipe-bomb trial in 2017 after the court banned his identification because he was 17 at the time.

During that case, he was sentenced to a three-year youth rehabilitation order, which was revoked after his latest offence. The judge, in that case, said Coulson’s "perverted" views led to him proclaiming Thomas Mair, the man who murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, to be a hero.

The Parole Board refused to let Jack Coulson leave prison before the end of his sentence as it was not convinced there was any "real reduction in risk" since he was first jailed.

But, because of the type of sentence he is serving, Coulson is still expected to be freed later this year when he has served his full time behind bars.

In 2018 he was sentenced to four years and eight months in a young offenders’ institution for having terror handbook The Big Book Of Mischief, after previously being convicted for making the explosive.

References to the banned right-wing group National Action and internet searches for Timothy McVeigh, the American terrorist who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which led to the deaths of 168 people, were also discovered on his phone.

During a police interview Coulson had described Adolf Hitler as his “leader”, the court heard.

Now 22, Coulson first became eligible to be considered for release in April last year and "indicated that he hoped to be released" when he came before the Parole Board for the first time.

Although this request was rejected, because he is serving a determinate sentence, he is still due to be freed when his term ends in October this year.

A document detailing the Parole Board’s decision said the risk factors at the time of his offending included his "interest in explosives and his right-wing, racist and pro-violence beliefs".

Work to address his offending while in custody was considered to have been of "limited benefit" and an "intervention" to tackle the causes of extremist behaviour was "not completed due to concerns about Mr Coulson’s engagement".

None of the officials or experts who gave evidence to the Parole Board supported his release and the panel "was not persuaded that there had been any real reduction in risk since Mr Coulson’s sentence started".

The Parole Board decided a plan to restrict Coulson’s movements and who he contacts, should he be released, "was not robust enough" at this stage "because he would be unlikely to comply with it".

The papers said: "After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Coulson was suitable for release."

If he was not freed early by the panel, he would "otherwise be released at the end of his sentence in October 2022, unless found suitable for a return to the community before that date as the result of a future parole review", the board added.