The leader of a British far-right party promoted Mein Kampf to thousands of followers online, according to anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate.

Mark Collett — who was once tipped as the likely successor to British National Party leader (BNP) Nick Griffin — allegedly recommended Hitler’s notorious screed to more than 12,000 followers on messaging app Telegram.

It is claimed that members of his group Patriotic Alternative (PA) — said to be currently the most active far-right group in Britain — have denied the Holocaust, praised Hitler and called for the deportation of non-white NHS workers.

The group now has up to 250 activists on the ground across the UK and an online reach of more than 13,000 on Telegram, claims a new report by Hope Not Hate, Patriotic Alternative: Britain’s Fascist Threat.

It details alleged links between PA and outlawed neo-Nazi terror group National Action (NA), which have also been reported in The Times.

One former NA insider reportedly claimed Mr Collett worked with NA in 2016 before quitting the group when he was not offered a leadership role.

Mr Collett initially rose to prominence after featuring in the 2002 Channel 4 documentary Young, Nazi And Proud, in which he was covertly filmed admitting his admiration for Hitler and describing AIDS as a “friendly disease” because “blacks, drug users and gays have it”. His ascent within the BNP came to an end in 2010, when he attempted to oppose Griffin’s leadership. Collett is said to have founded NA in 2019.

Sam Melia, a senior PA member, is alleged to have attacked ethnic-minority NHS workers online, writing that there was “no price we wouldn’t pay to send every f***ing one of you home” in response to a pro-NHS campaign.

PA attempt to adopt a “respectable face” to the public, Hope Not Hate research director Joe Mulhall said.

He added: “The views that PA hold are very similar to those of the Nazis that we as a society actively reject and revile.

“We now have a responsibility to recognise that this type of hatred has a new face and reject its presence in our local towns and communities.”