Terrorists’ children must be protected, says top police officer
CHILDREN OF convicted terrorists should be protected in the same way as those whose parents are paedophiles, one of the UK’s most senior police officers has said.
National counter-terrorism police chief Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said extremist propaganda and sexual abuse are “equally wicked” forces for youngsters to be exposed to, pointing out that parents are keeping care of their offspring even after they have committed terror-related crimes. Mr Rowley also revealed for the first time that four far-right terror plots were foiled last year, as Britain faces a “significant” threat from “organised right-wing terrorism”.
In wide-ranging comments made ahead of his retirement next month, he:
Called for members of the socalled Beatles Islamic State cell to face justice, saying: “Locking them up and throwing away the key would be a great idea.”
Warned that far-right and Islamist extremists are feeding off each other to create a “toxic combination” that is helping fuel the terror threat.
Challenged internet firms to do more to help authorities tackle radicalisation and planning of attacks online;
In a sweeping assessment of extremism and terrorism in Britain, Mr Rowley revealed that since the start of the conflict in Syria about 100 children have been safeguarded through the family courts. He said: “The family courts and social services now routinely wrestle with child protection and safeguarding cases arising out of terrorism and extremism.”
Mr Rowley, who has led UK counter-terrorism policing for nearly four years, described the existing threat as acute, and called for a “whole-society response”. In a lecture at the Policy Exchange think-tank, he warned of the “chronic threat” from extremism.