Online films helped extremist plan attack
A BRITISH extremist plotted a “terrible” terror attack this summer after learning how to penetrate a stab vest from watching online videos, Amber Rudd has revealed.
The unnamed man was preparing for the assault via footage that internet giants failed to take down and was only thwarted when authorities uncovered the plot. The Home Secretary said the incident proved how social media firms must do more to stop the “online arms race” being pursued by jihadists.
Ms Rudd pledged that British jihadists returning home would be arrested when they stepped back into the UK if possible, and she raised the possibility of cross-referencing car hire data with other Government information to help stop a spate of rental vehicle attacks on pedestrians. The intervention came as Ms Rudd visited Washington DC to rally support for making internet companies be more proactive in removing unacceptable online content.
Speaking at the New America think tank, she said 44,000 extremist websites had been created in 2017 alone – about 140 every day.
She called on internet companies to “go further and faster” and said illegal videos, such as those showing beheadings or how to plan attacks, could still be found online. “We have to face up to the fact that there is also now an online element to the majority of terrorist plots,” Ms Rudd added.
“For instance, this summer we managed to disrupt a plot that involved an individual learning how to get through a stab vest from online videos. Luckily, he was caught before he was able to fulfil this terrible vision.” ♦police funding cuts are undermining efforts to combat Islamist and neo-nazi attacks in Britain, Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for counter terrorism, has warned. He said fewer officers on the ground would damage relationships with communities and hamper intelligence gathering.