Murder of Sir David should spur us to act against haters
WE still know relatively little about the killing of Sir David Amess last Friday. Why, for example, was he the target rather than anyone else? But one thing the police seem clear about is that they are investigating a terror-related incident.
Tragically, we have become all too familiar with acts of Islamist terror – and with the pattern that immediately follows.
It starts with the revelation that suspects were somehow known to the authorities or to the Prevent programme, then the police looking into how they became radicalised, followed by calls for an inquiry into how the incident was allowed to happen, and finally the demand that more is done to prevent such outrages.
And yet for all that, we still remain in denial about the overall picture – the spread of extremism and specifically Islamist extremism.
In recent years there has – rightly – been a focus on Rightwing extremism. The murder of Jo Cox was a terrible illustration of where this could lead.
But for all the fine words often spoken about the need to sharpen our act in response to Islamist terror and the often brilliant work of the police and security services in protecting us, the evidence of our actions – or rather inaction – tells a damning story of denial.
THE grooming of potential jihadists, for example, continues under our noses with online videos from the likes of terror recruiter Anjem Choudary.
In 2016, Choudary was convicted under the Terrorism Act of soliciting support for a proscribed organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and jailed for five years and six months.
Choudary is a key figure in the radicalisation of young Muslims. According to one analysis published in 2019, 55 per cent of terror court cases had links to Al-Muhajiroun, the banned Islamist group he founded. He was – and remains – a highly dangerous man. Yet he did not even serve half his sentence. Choudary was freed in 2018, just two years and two months after being jailed.
As if that was not bad enough, Choudary’s videos, which are highly effective tools for radicalising young Muslims, remain easily available online.
Instead of acting against the companies that host them, we stand by and watch – our hands tied by laws never intended to deal with terrorism, and which deny the authorities many powers they need to act.
Politicians regularly speak of the need to change the law, but nothing ever happens.
In 2017, for example, then prime minister Theresa May said she would change human rights laws if they “get in the way” of dealing with terror suspects: “I mean doing more to restrict the freedom and movements of terrorist suspects when we have enough evidence to know they are a threat, but not enough evidence to prosecute them in full in court.” What did she actually do? Nothing.
All too often authorities simply cave in when challenged, even when that means unsavoury groups win.
In 2019, Lord Carlile, the former independent reviewer of terror legislation, was appointed to examine the effectiveness of the Prevent programme, which aims to stop radicalisation.
Some of the very worst Islamist organisations went berserk because Lord Carlile actually understands the threat of such extremism.
One human rights organisation launched a legal challenge, on the basis of Lord Carlile’s views. Instead of standing firm, the government caved in and removed him (although William Shawcross was a superb choice to eventually replace him).
JUSTICE Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to reveal plans to alter the Human Rights Act next spring, but we have heard such promises so many times before, all to no avail.
Since Sir David’s killing, much of the focus has been on the tone of political debate and the poison that is spread on social media. Those are important issues but they miss the point in relation to Sir David.
From what we know, it does not seem as though he was killed by an angry social media keyboard warrior, or even as a result of a heightened political atmosphere. Police are treating it as terrorism.
That will be acknowledged, condemned and discussed by everyone who is not an Islamist extremist.
But those acknowledgments, condemnations and discussions will lead to nothing until we stop denying our failure to adequately understand what is happening, and to take action to deal with it.
‘Grooming of potential terrorists continues under our noses’