Category Archives: Counter-terrorism policy

UK riots expose double standards on far-right and Islamist violence

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Severe cases of far-right violence need to be recognised as terrorism and not ‘thuggery’, write Rusi researchers

The recent riots in the UK, sparked by the Southport stabbings, have exposed troubling double standards in how society perceives and responds to far-right violence compared to Islamist extremism. This disparity calls for a serious redefinition of how we address far-right extremism, recognising it as the grave threat it truly represents.

Far-right motivated violence is often classified as mere “thuggery” or hooliganism, while similar acts motivated by Islamist extremism would is likely to be swiftly labeled as terrorism. This inconsistency undermines the perceived severity of far-right threats and hinders the political will to take equivalent action.

Emily Winterbotham, Claudia Wallner and Jessica White are researchers at the Royal United Services Institute.

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‘Two-tier’: UK treats far-right attacks less harshly than Islamist violence, says thinktank

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Exclusive: Defence thinktank Rusi says rightwing violence ‘often classified as mere thuggery’ by politicians and prosecutors

The UK has a “two-tier approach” to extremism that fails to treat far-right attacks as seriously as Islamist ones, a leading thinktank has said.

The Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) says rightwing violence “is often classified as mere thuggery” by politicians, prosecutors and the security services. Equivalent acts by Islamists would “swiftly be labelled as terrorism”, it says in an article in the Guardian.

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Lawyers urge Starmer to ensure safety of advice centres over far-right threat

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Police chiefs announce deployment of extra 2,200 riot officers as list of 60 immigration centres circulated online

Lawyers have called on ministers to address serious concerns about their safety after it emerged far-right groups were planning to target immigration advice centres in the coming days.

The Law Society and Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) said their members were at risk, after a list of 60 immigration centres was circulated on Telegram with a message suggesting they should be the target of protests on Wednesday.

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Worst far-right violence should be treated as terrorism, says ex-police chief

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Neil Basu, former head of UK counter-terrorism, condemned rampaging rioters as ‘bullies and cowards’

The worst of the far-right violence seen in England this weekend should be treated as terrorism, a prominent former police chief has said, amid warnings over a new wave of unrest targeting migration lawyers.

Police have made 378 arrests since the violence broke out last week, with rioters setting fire to a library, looting shops and storming hotels housing asylum seekers.

Australia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia issued travel alerts to their nationals living in or visiting the UK, warning them to stay away from demonstrations.

Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, warned the riots have made many of the health service’s multicultural workforce feel “afraid and unwelcome” and the Royal College of Nursing called on ministers to ensure that anyone who targets nurses “pays a very heavy price”.

Ministers announced plans to introduce more than 500 new prison places over the next month to help cope with an influx of accused rioters expected to be held on remand.

The prime minister’s spokesperson criticised comments by Elon Musk after the X owner posted that “civil war is inevitable” in response to a video showing riots in Liverpool.

MPs and 60 anti-racist and migrants’ rights organisations called for parliament to be recalled to address the violence and “to ensure that all people and communities of colour are protected”.

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Conservatives left UK wide open to far-right violence, says former adviser

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Exclusive: Dame Sara Khan, who advised May, Johnson and Sunak, says recent administrations failed the country

The Conservative government left the UK wide open to the far-right violence erupting across parts of the country by ignoring red flags and stoking fires with a culture war agenda, a senior adviser on extremism to Tory prime ministers has said.

Dame Sara Khan, who was Rishi Sunak’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience until May this year and acted as counter-extremism commissioner under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, said the recent administrations had failed the British people.

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Labour unlikely to rush into proscribing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

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Exclusive: Lammy said to be looking at creating new category of state-sponsored terrorism to allow restrictions to be imposed

Labour is unlikely to rush into proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and will instead examine whether a new category of state-backed terrorism needs to be devised.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will also consult colleagues on the implications for Iranian foreign policy of the election at the weekend of a reformist-backed president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

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More young people being radicalised online, says UK counter-terror officer

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Senior detective warns children are accessing extreme material as a result of lockdowns, after a 20-year-old was jailed on Monday

A senior counter-terrorism officer has warned that children and young people are increasingly being radicalised online after spending long periods on the internet during the pandemic.

Det Supt Andy Meeks said a growing number of vulnerable people were accessing extreme material after spending hours unsupervised online.

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Revealed: legal fears over Michael Gove’s new definition of ‘extremism’

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The communities secretary wants ‘trailblazer’ government departments to pilot a scheme to ban individuals and groups deemed extremist from public life

Michael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who “undermine the UK’s system of liberal democracy” from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of a legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.

Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state for the levelling up, housing and communities, have drawn up plans for “trailblazer” departments to pilot the scheme, according to documents that have been circulated to the Home Office and Downing Street and seen by the Observer.

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UK terror threat level under close review after foiled alleged attack plot in Europe

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Arrests in Germany and the Netherlands increase fears that Jewish institutions in the UK could be targeted by Hamas

Britain’s terror threat level is being kept under “very close” review amid concerns that extremist groups could target Jewish institutions in the UK, a day after German prosecutors said they had foiled a Hamas attack plot by making four arrests.

MI5 and counter-terror police indicated they were focused on whether the war in the Middle East could galvanise extremists into taking violent action, as Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza extends to its third month.

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Adviser warns UK government against tightening laws on glorifying terrorism

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Independent reviewer says change could harm freedom of speech and further strain overtaxed security services

No 10 should not implement plans to amend the law on glorifying terrorism after the pro-Palestine marches as it would do “no favours” to police, MI5 or the probation service, a government adviser has said.

In a 15-page report submitted to the Home Office, Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said there was no need to respond to the marches with new terrorism legislation, adding that there was “good reason for caution” given both the risk of unintended consequences and the drain on limited state resources.

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Counter-terror chiefs on alert for Iranian activity in UK exploiting Gaza war

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Israel-Hamas conflict raises fears Iran might seek to encourage radical groups or terrorist activities in Britain

British counter-terrorism officers are monitoring closely if Iran will try to exploit the Israel-Hamas war for its own ends in the UK, amid wider anxieties that Tehran is an increasing security menace to dissidents and critics.

Concerns about Russia and China are well established, but Iran’s campaign of intimidation and harassment has been the most visible development in the domestic threat picture over the last 12 months.

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Police seek four people for ‘pro-Hamas’ signs at Palestine demo in London

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Placards declaring support for Hamas and featuring images of paragliders used to attack Israel would break UK terrorism law

Police are looking for four people alleged to have shown support for terrorism, including a man who held a placard declaring full support for Hamas, and three women alleged to have brandished photos of paragliders, which may be a reference to those that were used to attack Israel.

The Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command issued photos of the suspects and said hate crimes continued to increase. Another big pro-Palestinian demonstration through central London is scheduled for Saturday.

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Shamima Begum a victim of trafficking when she left Britain for Syria, court told

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Lawyers argue Home Office failed to properly consider whether Begum had been groomed before stripping her of UK citizenship

Shamima Begum’s lawyers argued before the court of appeal on Tuesday that it was unlawful to deprive her of British citizenship because she was a victim of trafficking when she left the UK for Islamic State territory in Syria at 15.

Samantha Knights KC, her barrister, told the start of a three-day hearing that the Home Office and a lower court had failed to properly consider whether she was groomed – and called for the decision to be overturned.

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Met must explain decision over ‘jihad’ chant at protest, says minister

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Mark Harper says police should use full force of the law, as Met chief due to meet Suella Braverman

The Metropolitan police will be asked to explain to the home secretary why they failed to take action against demonstrators who chanted about “jihad” in London at the weekend, the transport secretary, Mark Harper, has said.

Suella Braverman is to meet the force’s commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, after video footage from a rally on Saturday organised by the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir showed a man talking about Palestine and asking what the solution was, before the word “jihad” was heard.

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Gaps in UK law allowing ‘jihad’ ‘known to government’

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Britain’s ex-head of counter-terrorism says government failed to act on a recommendation to change legislation

Gaps in UK law that would allow words such as “jihad” to be shouted at rallies were known to the government but not acted upon, Britain’s former head of counter-terrorism has revealed.

The comments from Neil Basu come as some ministers condemned police for their handling of weekend demonstrations in London, with the home secretary, Suella Braverman, due to meet the Metropolitan police commissioner on Monday.

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UK spy agencies want to relax ‘burdensome’ laws on AI data use

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GCHQ, MI6 and MI5 propose weakening safeguards that limit training of AI models with bulk personal datasets

The UK intelligence agencies are lobbying the government to weaken surveillance laws they argue place a “burdensome” limit on their ability to train artificial intelligence models with large amounts of personal data.

The proposals would make it easier for GCHQ, MI6 and MI5 to use certain types of data, by relaxing safeguards designed to protect people’s privacy and prevent the misuse of sensitive information.

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UK must repatriate more nationals in Syria, says terrorism policy adviser

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Britain has been urged by UN to help young children in Syrian detention camps

The UK government must allow greater repatriation of British nationals held in Syria, recognising that circumstances have changed since 2017, according to Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.

He also predicted little security risk in allowing the return of Shamima Begum, who fled her east London home when she was 15 years old to join the Islamic State in Syria, because her notoriety is such that she is likely to apply for a lifelong anonymity order requiring daily contact with authorities. Begum was stripped of her British citizenship in 2019, a decision upheld by the supreme court.

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Arrest of French publisher in London referred to police watchdog

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Report says detention of Ernest Moret was wrong after he was held for almost 24 hours by counter-terrorist police

The arrest in London of a radical French publisher under counter-terrorist powers has been referred to the police watchdog after the reviewer of terrorism legislation found that it was wrong.

Ernest Moret, 28, was held for almost 24 hours by counter-terrorist police and asked about his opinion of Emmanuel Macron and participation in anti-Macron protests after he arrived at St Pancras station in April for a book fair.

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‘Chilling’ arrest of French publisher by UK counter-terrorism police condemned

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Éditions la Fabrique says foreign rights manager Ernest Moret was held for several hours and asked ‘disturbing questions’ about his political opinions

The French publishing house whose employee was arrested on terror charges on his way to London book fair has said it is “chilling” that he was asked by British detectives about the authors published by his company.

Ernest Moret was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station on Monday evening, after arriving by train from Paris. He was arrested, after six hours of questioning, for alleged obstruction in refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer.

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Manchester Arena attack: families accuse MI5 of ‘devastating’ failure

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Comments come as official inquiry finds agency missed ‘significant opportunity’ to prevent 2017 atrocity

The families of victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the agency missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the deadliest terror plot in Britain since the 7 July 2005 attacks in London.

A public inquiry led by Sir John Saunders concluded that there was a “realistic possibility” that the bomber could have been thwarted if the security services had acted more decisively on intelligence.

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