Nazi David Copeland ‘made his choice’ when he plan

Nazi David Copeland ‘made his choice’ when he planted three nail bombs in London and as a result he should be ‘made to pay’ for his choice, the Old Bailey heard today.

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Copeland, 24, was motivated by extreme right wing views and gained pleasure from his atrocities, Nigel Sweeney, QC, prosecuting, said in his closing speech.

And Mr Sweeney, who spent hours attempting to discredit the defence case that Copeland is mentally ill, asked the jury to return guilty murder verdicts against him.

The prosecutor said there was ample evidence to show that Copeland was simply ‘playing the mental health card’ and is not suffering from paranoid schizophrenia as his defence contends.

The QC said a number of psychiatrists called on his behalf ‘plumped’ for the view that Copeland was suffering from the delusion that he had been ‘chosen by God to start a race war for the National Socialists and that he would be elected to power.

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But there was evidence that before his remand to Broadmoor Copeland told other inmates in Belmarsh Prison that he ‘liked to confuse people, that he did not have any mad thoughts and that he was not mentally ill and that he did not need to be in hospital but he had been advised to work the system.

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Copeland told others in Belmarsh that while in custody he made up the line that he had been told to plant the bombs by Jesus Christ.

Mr Sweeney claimed that after his move to Broadmoor Copeland also made up symptoms of mental illness ‘at the instigation of other patients.

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The QC added that by about last August it was ‘no coincidence’ that Copeland was being written to by a journalist, posing as a woman penpal, who suggested that he ‘play the diminished responsibility card.

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In a letter back to the reporter just before last Christmas Copeland wrote:

‘I can’t believe I’ve fooled all the doctors.

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Mr Sweeney said contrary to the views of the psychiatrists called by the defence, Dr Philip Joseph, giving evidence for the prosecution was convinced Copeland is not a paranoid schizophrenic.

Whereas Michael Wolkind, QC, has suggested that merely looking at Copeland’s bedroom wall shows our mentally ill he is.

Above his bed there was a picture of Adolf Hitler, a Nazi flag, press cuttings about violence in Northern Ireland, and a ‘Ku Klux Klan-style’ photo.

A colour picture of the aftermath of the Brixton blast, showing a policeman helping an injured victim lying in the road, was stuck to the wall above his bed.

Three more photos of the same incident – one showing a damaged car – were taped above his dresser, and a copy of The Sun newspaper with the front-page headline ‘Find the Brixton Bomber’ was in a bag on the floor.

There was also a picture of a person injured in the Brick Lane blast on the wall, along with articles titled ‘Death of a Vampire’ and ‘Stabbing Race Row’.

Mr Sweeney continued: ‘Read his walls says Mr Wolkind.

Please do.

They are pictures of atrocities, pictures that would make him feel powerful.

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He said Copeland’s ambition and ‘driving force’ in recent years was to be a serial killer or mass murderer.

And he referred to Copeland’s words to a doctor shortly after his arrest in which he said he planted the bombs out of hatred for everyone and ‘just having s–t life.

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The killer later said it was his ‘destiny’ to do what he did.

‘What he was suffering from was a personality disorder rather than mental illness.

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a severely disturbed young man in an emotional and psychological sense,’ said Mr Sweeney.

‘A personality breakdown led to a psychotic episode which came up for the first time in prison rather than coming before if it existed at all.

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The prosecutor said Copeland launched the bombing campaign because of his ‘abhorent far-right wing extremist views’ adding:

‘Those views, not in mental illness, caused him to do what he did for his own reasons where he had a choice and he made his choice.

‘In our submission he should pay for his choice by convictions for the offences he is guilty of, namely the murder of each of the unfortunate victims.

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Copeland has pleaded guilty to planting nail bombs at Brixton on April 17 last year, in Brick Lane, east London, on April 24, and at the Admiral Duncan on April 30.

He said he did it to spark a race-war in Britain and bring the British National Party to power.

Andrea Dykes, 27, of Colchester, Essex, and friends John Light, 32, of Wokingham and Nick Moore, 31, from Felixstowe – were all killed in the Soho blast.

Mrs Dykes’ husband Julian, 25, was critically injured with severe burns and nails lodged in his lungs.

Copeland, of Sunnybank Road, Cove, near Farnborough, Hants, admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but denies three murders.

The trial continues.

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