UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

To accompany a new police CT advert (57 seconds) the senior UK CT police officer appeared this week.
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX6x...ature=youtu.be

It is curious how three different outlets reported his remarks and their titles:

The BBC:

Far-right groups could exploit Brexit tensions - police

Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46965780

The Guardian:

Far right may exploit Brexit tensions, says UK counter-terror chief

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/23/no-deal-brexit-incredibly-damaging-security-says-uk-counter-terror-head-neil-basu?

The Independent:

Public tip-offs to terror police halve in year, officials warn as more UK plots foiled

Link:http://https://www.independent.co.uk...-a8741411.html

From the later:

Mr Basu said the flow of intelligence from members of the public was vital. “I know some people are still reluctant to speak to us,” he acknowledged. “To them I say, reporting your concerns to us won’t ruin lives, but it might save them.”
In 2017, more than 31,000 reports were made to counterterror police, but last year the number fell to 13,000.
In both years, more than a fifth of tips were “very significant”, leading to the identification of a suspect or plot, or aiding prosecutions.

Locally a senior CTU officer added a little, with my emphasis:

However, crucial intelligence from the public has helped the police and the security services have prevented 18 terror attacks in just under two years. Twenty-two per cent of all reports we receive from members of the public produce important intelligence which is helpful to our investigations. “Like other criminals, terrorists need to plan and that creates opportunities for police and the security services to discover and stop these attacks before they happen. So if you see or hear something unusual or suspicious trust your instincts and ACT by reporting it in confidence by phone or online. The important thing for people to remember is that no report is a waste of our time. Reporting your concerns to us won’t ruin lives, but it might save them."

Link:https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/...-west-midlands

[davidbfpo]

An in depth article on the investigation that led to this aspiring Muslim convert conviction for plotting an attack in one of London's main shopping streets; known in the CT arena as an 'iconic' site.

A couple of interesting aspects:

For 10 years, there were attempts to enrol Ludlow in the (voluntary) government's de-radicalisation programme Prevent, but he resisted until October 2017 when he began a series of 17 meetings with an assigned mentor. Ludlow sought to create the impression he was positively engaging with the scheme, which appears to have been accepted by those managing his involvement, but in fact his terrorist activity was only increasing.

His jihadist mentor being from the Phillipines:

The device (mobile phone) revealed he had been using encrypted messaging applications to communicate with a Philippines-based IS militant and was planning to move there permanently.A subsequent official decision to revoke his passport angered Ludlow and he then switched his attention to planning an attack in the UK, encouraged and directed by a radicalised medic called Eyadzhemar Abdusalam who used the epithet Abu Yaqeen.

Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47458354

[davidbfpo]

David Anderson, a lawyer and former Independent Reviewer of CT Legislation (highly regarded by many), recently gave a speech to a university journalism course. Naturally the focus is on journalism, including them investigating and interviewing suspects and others. It is also a good commentary on several aspects of UK CT policy and practice.
Link:https://www.daqc.co.uk/wp-content/up.../03/This-1.pdf