The Head of Counter Terrorism Policing has called upon the public
to help tackle right wing extremism by seeking help for those
vulnerable to radicalisation.
The appeal comes after Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu warned
about the significant growth of Right Wing Terrorism in the UK,
revealing that nearly a third of terrorist attacks foiled since
2017 were linked to the ideology.
Police and security services have foiled 22 terror attacks since
March 2017, with seven relating to Right Wing Terrorism.
It represents more than 10 per cent of Counter Terrorism Police’s
caseload, up from six per cent just two years ago, and the
ideology accounted for 24 per cent of terrorism-related arrests
in the 12 months to June 2019.
“There is a small but growing threat from Right Wing Terrorism to
the UK and we are working alongside our partners in the Security
Services to combat it,” says Mr Basu.
“We are dedicating more officers and more resources to tackle it,
and together we are bringing the full might of the UK CT machine
to bear against those who wish to do us harm or incite violence.
“The whole of society has a part to play in this fight. My
officers might be on the frontline, but we cannot succeed without
the help and support of the public.”
Home Office figures show that more people are trusting Prevent
with their concerns about right wing extremism, with the number
of referrals into the Government’s safeguarding scheme nearly
doubling to 18% since 2015/16.
“Prevent has a proven track record in protecting vulnerable
people, but each foiled plot represents a missed opportunity and
as a society we must do more to protect those who need our help,”
added Mr Basu.
“We are currently running more than 800 live investigations and
the only way we will see that decline in the long-term is to
start treating the causes of terrorism and not just the symptoms.
“The Prevent programme is our best hope of doing that, and we
have thousands of people around the country who work every day to
guard vulnerable people against the dangers of extremism and
radicalisation.
“The most effective way people can support us in this work is to
trust police with information that could save lives.”
