A surge in online extremism, at a time of COVID-related isolation, has created a "perfect storm" for radicalisation, according to the UK's top counter terrorism police officer.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu has said growing numbers of young people in particular have been sucked in by the increase in hateful ideology online and set on a path towards violent extremism.
Yeah, it's not like that's not obvious to anyone with a brain or who reads the news, Neil...
For MI5 and Counter Terror Command at Scotland Yard, the vast majority of their work is still centred on the threat from Islamist extremism.
But Mr Basu has warned the threat from far right extremism is growing rapidly, adding that 10 out of the 12 under 18s who were arrested for terrorism last year were linked to extreme right wing ideology.
Eh..?
Remind me, someone, how many deadly 'far right' terror attacks have been launched on British soil?
What is 'far right' ideology, anyway?
He said: "There has definitely been a growth in nationalistic material online, white supremacist literature, things that are extremely disturbing."
Well, good lord, we can't have nationalism, can we?
I think that 1999 was the last time we saw a jackboot licking nutcase commit a terrorist offence. Since then we've seen dozens of times when the ideology of Islam's adherents have either killed or threatened to kill or have been stopped by the police from killing. Basu is bullshitting and comparing apples with oranges.
ReplyDeleteThese days 'far right' refers to the centre ground because the Overton window has moved all the way to loony land. Therefore making the quite reasonable assertion that not all immigration is good and that illegal immigrants are actually breaking the law is classed as right wing extremism.
ReplyDeleteWell quite right, this is without doubt justification to withdraw the few remaining officers we have in the community and employ them in nice warm safe offices addressing cybercrime. After all it's much safer and more fun playing on a computer than it is looking after the tax paying plebs who pay your wages isn't it? Vigilante here we go, everyone for themselves then.
ReplyDeletePatriotism has become nationalism, democracy has become populism, truth is now either a hate crime or fake news. This doesn't happen by accident, we are being led on a dance into the lunatic asylum.
ReplyDeleteAlways find it strange that 'Nationalism' is only a dirty word if you come from a large country.
ReplyDeleteScottish or Welsh fervour is called Patriotism whereas English patriotism is redefined as nationalism
“far right” begins about where classical liberalism used to sit. This is a failure of the education system: the right was the traditional powers. Of royalty, the landed aristocracy and the church, the left are the communitarians with socialism , communism and fascism being blood brothers using slightly different means to a technocratic end. I think us peasants are best served in the middle. You know the bit that recognises individual effort and responsibility
ReplyDeleteThis man is positioning himself for the job of next Commissioner. He starts every blog on our internal website with "the country's most senior BAME officer". He's hardly likely to go against the party line is he? Right wing bad, left wing good. Muslim terrorism...sssshhhh.
ReplyDeleteJaded
".....a perfect storm for radicalisation...."
ReplyDeleteDoes he mean like the Burn Loot Murder mob who kill more black people than white people kill black people, but it's still whitey's fault? Perhaps he means the violent, property destroying fascists of antifa, the most ironic title for a bunch of moronic thugs. He may even mean the decapitating, stabbing, raping, members of the RoP who feel it's their destiny to rid the world of anyone with a different viewpoint to theirs. No, of course not. He means those people who feel that, as the Police and government are either unwilling or unable to protect them, it is necessary to do that themselves.
Penseivat
" Basu is bullshitting and comparing apples with oranges."
ReplyDeleteIt's like worrying about the spider on your bedroom ceiling when there's an angry grizzly bear regarding you from the foot of the bed!
"These days 'far right' refers to the centre ground because the Overton window has moved all the way to loony land."
That's becoming more and more obvious - look at the supermarkets all banding together against what they call a 'racist backlash'.
Which is probably 0.099% actual genuine racist abuse and the rest 'Oh, god, not more woke crap, just sell us bread and milk, FFS' type comments.
"Vigilante here we go, everyone for themselves then."
I think in a lot of areas, that's already happening...
"This doesn't happen by accident, we are being led on a dance into the lunatic asylum."
And the music's speeding up...
"Always find it strange that 'Nationalism' is only a dirty word if you come from a large country."
ReplyDeleteSpot on!
"I think us peasants are best served in the middle. You know the bit that recognises individual effort and responsibility"
Concepts that are now derided, instead of admired.
"This man is positioning himself for the job of next Commissioner."
And very likely to get it!
" No, of course not."
He's probably trying to find a way to include 'anti maskers' in the definition right now.