Right-wing extremism threat rises

RIGHT-WING extremism is the fastest growing terrorist threat in the UK – with supporters seeking to mimic jihadist attacks, police have said.

The UK head of counter-terrorism Neil Basu said seven of the 22 plots foiled since March 2017 have been linked to far-right ideologies.

About 10% of around 800 live terror investigations were linked to right-wing terrorism, while the Government’s controversial Prevent programme has seen referrals nearly doubling since 2015/16 to 18%.

“It’s rising from a low base, but it’s probably the fastest growing bit of my casebook at the moment,” the Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner said at a briefing yesterday.

“I see it as my job, and the security service as my major partner, to stop that.”

Mr Basu said counter-terror police and MI5 have disrupted right-wing plots “designed to kill people”.

Attack methods used and planned have mimicked those seen in jihadist plots, including knife attacks and seeking to create improvised explosive devices, he told reporters.

Mr Basu said some of the Islamic State guidance materials were also being used by right-wing terrorists, although they tend to target specific demographics or individuals rather than launching indiscriminate attacks in a public place.

And he said the biggest threat still comes from Islamist and jihadist terrorists.

“Despite the increases, right-wing terrorism remains a relatively small percentage of our overall demand, but when nearly a third of the plots foiled by police and security services since 2017 relate to right-wing ideology, it lays bare why we are taking this so seriously,” he said.