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Lorry driver who made guns and prepared for 'race war' is jailed

Thomas McKenna converted blank-firing pistols into live firearms and stockpiled explosives for a planned race war, supplying guns to organised crime groups across London, police said.

  • On Thursday, Thomas McKenna, 60, lorry driver, was jailed for 16 years for running a caravan workshop converting blank-firing pistols into live firearms sold to organised crime groups in London.
  • Thomas McKenna used social media to promote extremist views and investigators said his stockpiling of weapons and explosives was fuelled by extremist ideology rather than mere opportunism.
  • Metropolitan Police uncovered six reactivated blank-firing guns, a 22-inch shotgun disguised as a torch, homemade grenades, and manuals including a US Army manual in McKenna's caravans on Buckles Lane, South Ockendon, Essex.
  • Officials noted multiple convictions followed the operation, including Allan Crosby, 44, jailed for 10 years and Ryan Smith, 44, for seven and a half years, removing dangerous individuals from London streets.
  • Faisal Razzaq and others will face sentencing on February 26 at Harrow Crown Court, and the Metropolitan Police urged the public to report extremist content.
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BBC News broke the news in United Kingdom on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
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