Lessons learned in a chapter of terror

THE Intelligence and Security Committee’s latest report puts the spotlight on the terror attacks last year that brought trauma to the country and sorrow and loss to families.

The Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green attacks tested the response of the security services, and the ISC’s report asks what lessons need to be learned.

There was shock in Wales when it emerged that the killer who drove a van into people near an Islamic Centre in Finsbury Park had been living in Cardiff.

Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General who chairs the committee, said he had seen no evidence to suggest that this horrendous act could have been predicted.

But the investigation into the atrocity in Manchester raised troubling questions.

Why was perpetrator Salman Abedi able to visit an “extremist contact in prison on more than one occasion”? Why was he not subject to travel monitoring or restrictions?

He had been known to MI5 since 2014 but he was not referred to the Prevent programme. It is not surprising the committee concludes that “potential opportunities” to stop the Manchester attack were missed.

It remains deeply concerned about access to extremist material online and warns that laws concerning the purchase of ingredients for explosives are “hopelessly out of date”.

Some elements of the report are heavily redacted, reminding us that the security services are right now working in secret to prevent further terrorist attacks. But it is appropriate there is public scrutiny of these agencies; just as we expect civilian oversight of the military and the police, it is important that the likes of MI5 and MI6 are also held to account.

The battle against extremism is an ongoing struggle, with threats coming in different eras from the far left, the far right and religious sects. Tackling a danger involves not just stopping attacks but addressing the factors that make people susceptible to radicalisation.

This is a challenge which not even the most advanced intelligence agency can handle alone. Education and social services have vital roles to play, but so do we all in creating a society where prejudice, intolerance and fear is not allowed to blaze into hate.

We must learn from mistakes and keep tight hold of our values.