Terror fears as Right-wing cells recruit Scottish teenagers online
A GROWING number of Scots teens are being referred to the UK’s anti-radicalisation programme amid concerns they have been brainwashed by far-Right propaganda.
Scottish high school and university students aged 15 to 20 made up the largest proportion of referrals to the Prevent initiative last year, accounting for almost half of all reports, say Home Office statistics.
Meanwhile, almost 20 children under the age of 15 were deemed to be at risk of launching an ideologically driven terror attack. As a result, teachers and lecturers were responsible for the highest proportion of referrals to
‘Malleable young men attracted’
Prevent in 2020 – up from 29 in 2019 to 32.
Although some will have been reported for showing sympathies with Islamic fundamentalists, the most common affiliation was with far-Right ideologies.
Edinburgh student Gabrielle Friel, 22, was last month found guilty under the Terrorism Act of possessing weapons including a crossbow, 15 arrows and a machete.
At his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Friel told the jury that mass shooting was a ‘fantasy’ for him and said he had empathy for Elliot Rodger, a mass murderer with links to the far-Right, who killed six people in a stabbing and shooting spree in Isla Vista, California, in 2014.
Counter-extremism experts have warned that young Scots men are being groomed by farRight communities online and on social media. Teachers have also called on parents to monitor their children’s social media use to avoid them becoming radicalised.
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, founder of counter-extremism organisation Faith Matters, said: ‘Prevent referrals in Scotland show that young boys and men between the ages of 15 to 20 are the most affected, mainly due to online radicalisation.
‘These young men are looking for belonging, being part of a group, and they want certainty. These triggers are used by far-Right groups. Such far-Right groups attract young men who are mentally malleable with videos of rage and grievance.’
Nicola Fisher, equality committee convener of the EIS teachers’ union, said: ‘It’s vitally important that parents are aware of the presence of the far-Right on social media, and educate themselves on the processes and risk factors of radicalisation.
‘Where young people are talking a lot about far-Right ideas, or expressing persistent negative views about women, BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic], immigrants or disabled people, this could be an indication that they are being influenced.’
Prevent is designed to spot the signs of indoctrination and pull people away from harmful communities. As well as the education sector, including schools and universities, the police, prison service and local authorities can also make referrals to Prevent if they believe that someone is at risk of taking on ‘violent extremist narratives’.
Recent Home Office data published by Police Scotland shows that the number of people flagged to officials as at risk of carrying out a terror attack declined slightly from 126 in 2019 to 100 last year.
Of those referred, 94 were men and only six were women. Individuals aged 15-20 made
‘Parents have to educate themselves’
up the largest proportion of the 100 referrals, accounting for 44 per cent. Around a fifth of individuals referred were under the age of 15.
The highest proportion, 35 per cent, were related to Rightwing extremism and 12 per cent for Islamist extremism.
Support was given to half of all cases, while the other half were dropped after an initial assessment.
Last night, a UK Government spokesman said: ‘Since the introduction of the Prevent in 2015, over 2,300 referrals have resulted in individuals identified as vulnerable to radicalisation receiving support to turn them away from a dangerous path.’