Suspected murderer had considered killing other politicians
Online trolls could lose right to anonymity, says Patel
ONLINE trolls could be stripped of their anonymity in order to tackle the growing torrent of abuse faced by MPS, Priti Patel has signalled.
In the wake of Sir David Amess’s death there are now mounting calls for the Government to take tougher action against social media companies which fail to tackle abuse on their platforms.
While the motive behind the Conservative MP’S murder is still being established, the Home Secretary yesterday warned that parliamentarians were being subjected to “relentless” and “appalling” attacks online with growing frequency.
Hinting that the Government could now seek to toughen up upcoming online safety legislation, Ms Patel added that she wanted ministers to “look at everything” when asked whether the right to anonymity could be outlawed.
“This is about wider public discourse and I would go as far to say social media and anonymity on social media, where Members of Parliament are the subject of some of the most cruel comments and attacks, and they are relentless,” Ms Patel told Sky News.
“We can’t carry on like this. I spend too much time with communities who have been under attack. Basically who have had all sorts of postings online and it is a struggle to get those posts taken down. We want to make some big changes on that.”
However, she later cautioned that there was a need to be “balanced” and
‘We can’t carry on like this. It is a struggle to get those posts taken down. We want to make big changes on that’
“proportionate” when assessing anonymity online, citing the safeguards in place for whistleblowers.
Ms Patel also hit out at social media companies over the use of end-to-end encryption which she has previously warned is hampering the ability of law enforcement to pursue child abusers and extremists online.
Warning that they “cannot carry on hiding behind this facade of privacy”, she told Times Radio: “We will put in fines sanctions against tech companies that do not co-operate.”
Ms Patel’s intervention is the latest in a long-standing debate over anonymous accounts on social media, which critics say is helping to fuel the huge rise in online abuse.
Under the Government’s Online Safety Bill, social media firms will face multi-billion pound fines of up to 10 per cent of their turnover for breaches of the laws which are designed to protect users, and children in particular – from sexual abuse, terrorists and other online harms. However, in March, Oliver Dowden, the former culture secretary, suggested a blanket ban on anonymous accounts was unlikely due to there being legitimate reasons for users to hide their identities.
Since then it is understood that ministers have become increasingly convinced that they must find solutions to address the issue of anonymity in the Bill, although the details of any solution are thought to be still under discussion.
“It is being seriously considered,” said one Whitehall source with knowledge of the discussions.
One solution that has been put forward would see social media users required to provide identification, such as a passport or driver’s licence, when registering an account.
THE man arrested on suspicion of murdering Sir David Amess had considered killing other MPS, The Daily Telegraph understands.
The investigation into his tragic death suggests he was not specifically targeted but may have been picked at random as part of plot to kill any national politician.
The realisation three days into the police investigation that there may have been no “specific motive” for the targeting of Sir David will further reinforce the need for MPS across all parties to tighten up security at their homes and constituency offices.
Ali was seen using his mobile phone moments after the murder, according to sources. The Telegraph has not been able to establish whether the phone was used to record comments after the attack, including identifying with a particular terrorist organisation, or to send a message to a third party.
The actions, seen by witnesses in the room, though, are understood to be at the centre of why investigators labelled the attack a “terror incident” within hours of the murder.
According to sources, he said nothing of note during the attack but then picked up his phone before his arrest.
Investigators will inevitably be attempting to work out who the suspect had been in contact with in the run-up to Friday’s attack to better understand what went on.
They believe that Ali acted as a “lone wolf ” in what security services describe
‘He was unlucky. He was not targeted because of his political party. We believe David Amess was not specifically targeted’
Security services are certain his broad motivation was to strike down an MP to further the Islamist cause
as a “low-sophistication” plot that requires little planning. Such plots are almost impossible to thwart.
Reports had initially suggested the Tory politician, who was MP for Southend West, had been selected because of his values, views or religion.
There had been claims that his devout Catholicism had been a factor but those were scotched last night. There had also been fears his close ties with the Gulf state of Qatar, through his capacity as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Qatar, may have played a role.
Police and intelligence officials now believe he was stabbed to death simply because his alleged killer had succeeded in booking a face-to-face appointment as part of an indiscriminate and chilling attack on democthe racy. The Telegraph understands sources close to the investigation believe Ali may have considered killing other MPS, including Labour and Tory politicians, before picking Sir David. Preliminary investigations will end any speculation that there was a specific motive for Amess to be killed. “He was unlucky,” said one source inside Government. “He was not targeted because of his political party. We believe Sir David was not specifically targeted.”
Another source said it remained “unclear” why Sir David was chosen.
It is unclear if Amess was chosen after posting on Twitter details of the time and place of his Friday lunchtime constituency surgery.
Ali made a booking to see Amess a week before the MP was stabbed multiple times in a frenzied attack.
alleged killer has no known connections to Leigh-on-sea or to Amess, authorities have now concluded. He grew up in Croydon in south London and was living in Kentish Town in north London.
Police and security services are certain his broad motivation was to strike down an MP to further the Islamist cause spouted by groups such as alqaeda, Islamic State and especially alshabaab, which is active in Somalia.
Ali was born in the UK and it is not thought he had made any recent trips to Somalia or Kenya, where al-shabaab also has a strong base.
Nothing has been flagged on travel databases while travel to east Africa during the Covid pandemic has been difficult and might have raised concerns among authorities.
Sir David, 69, who had been an MP since 1983, met the public every fortnight and advertised the details on his parliamentary website.
It is thought Ali travelled to Essex by train to carry out the attack and police are combing CCTV to track his movements. Ali, according to reports, had apparently told Amess’s constituency staff that he had recently moved to the area.
It is unclear if Ali had attempted to make a constituency booking with other MPS or if research material was found on phones and computers seized by police.
Ali was not known to MI5, the domestic intelligence service, although he had been reported to Prevent, the Government’s counter-extremist body, some years ago. Referrals to Prevent are not necessarily passed on to MI5. Sir David was meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-sea on Friday afternoon when he was stabbed.
The MP spoke to PR professional Richard Hillgrove to discuss the Children’s Parliament, an event where youngsters are matched with MPS, soon before the attack.
Mr Hillgrove ended the Zoom call at 12.02pm, three minutes before Sir David, a married father-of-five, was stabbed. Ali was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and was later further detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and is in custody at a London police station. A warrant of further detention, which allows detectives to hold the man until October 22, was granted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.