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A surge in extremism online, at a time of COVID-related isolation, has created a “perfect storm” for radicalization, according to the UK’s top counter-terrorism police officer.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Basu has said that increasing numbers of young people, in particular, have been sucked into the rise of hateful ideology online and turned toward violent extremism.
AC Basu revealed that 17 children, some as young as 14, were arrested on terrorism charges in the last 18 months.
Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Neil Basu
During the same period, more than 1,500 children under the age of 15 were referred to the Prevent Against Radicalization program.
“We are seeing more young people being attracted to terrorist activity,” he said.
“That’s a relatively new and worrying trend in the UK, because just a few years ago we didn’t see anyone that young in our case work.”
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Authorities launched a new website on Tuesday with the aim of encouraging family and friends to report their loved ones if they suspect they are radicalizing.
The new Act Early site will provide advice, guidance and support to anyone concerned that someone they know may be at risk.
It occurs when the authorities reveal a worrying lack of participation by families with the Prevent program.
The Act Early website will offer advice to concerned parents
Last year, only 2% of referrals to Prevent came from family and friends of those suspected of radicalization.
Basu said the figure was unacceptably low and in part prompted the decision to launch a new website, so that people could get help and support if they have concerns about the behavior of someone they know.
“I remain hopeful, because there is something we can do right now to try to stop this.
“It requires parents, friends and family to help us by acting early, talking to their children about what they see online and sharing their concerns and seeking support if they fear that someone they know is in danger of becoming radicalized.”
He said he understood families’ reluctance to report their relatives, but that contacting the website did not automatically mean someone would be criminalized.
“Asking for help is a difficult and emotional step, but we must see it for what it is: an action that will not ruin their lives but can save them,” he continued.
For MI5 and Counter Terror Command at Scotland Yard, the vast majority of their work still focuses on the threat of Islamist extremism.
But Basu warned that the threat from far-right extremism is growing rapidly, adding that 10 of the 12 under-18s who were arrested for terrorism last year were linked to far-right ideology.
He said: “There has definitely been a growth in nationalist material online, white supremacist literature, things that are extremely disturbing.”
The terror threat level in the UK was raised to Severe earlier this month, following a wave of terror attacks in France and Austria.
There is no specific intelligence of a threat to the UK, but authorities fear that increased online radicalization during the lockdown means that many more people are willing to consider the use of acts of violence.
