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Thread: UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

  1. #161
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default How Britain has been kept safe for a decade

    A short article by the BBC's veteran reporter Peter Taylor, a key passage:
    Crucially they also rely on the way in which intelligence is now intimately shared between all the agencies: the Security Service (MI5), MI6, GCHQ - and the police. This is the key to keeping Britain safe - although it's by no means guaranteed.
    Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36803542
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 07-17-2016 at 11:08 AM. Reason: 80,000v
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  2. #162
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    In marked contrast to Peter Taylor's assessment (above Post) there are two news reports that suggest bureaucracy is hard at work slowing action down.

    Radicalization in prisons has long been an issue, one aspect is the books available in libraries:
    Extremist books were found in prison libraries seven months after the Government was told they should be removed, according to reports.The presence of Islamist literature, some encouraging jihad, in prisons was reported to the Ministry of Justice in November, according to the BBC. But the texts remained in prison chaplaincies until June 2016.
    Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...braries-seven/ and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36419430

    One legal weapon to restrict terrorism suspects are Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM), which replaced the much criticised and forlorn Control Orders (for those in the UK as immigrants, who could not be deported). So it is odd there is now only one TPIM in force:
    They are designed to curb the person’s movements and activities and expire after two years. The solitary Tpim contrasts with estimates by a former senior counter terrorism police officer that there are around 2,000 people known to anti-terror authorities.
    Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...ritain-amid-s/

    For a balanced view on TPIMs this is the view of the Independent Reviewer of CT Legislation:https://terrorismlegislationreviewer...14-march-2015/
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 07-28-2016 at 12:38 PM. Reason: 81,433v
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  3. #163
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    Default The public and CT

    Asst. Commissioner Rowley (national lead for CT) has written a blog on the UK's CT success so far:
    But for me our greatest advantage is the cooperation between the public and the police. It has often been said that ‘communities defeat terrorism’ and now that’s more important than ever before.
    The true scale of that collaboration is impressive, but rarely explained. The fact is that we see at least 3,639 contributions from the public every day, helping keep us all safe in our collective effort against terrorism.
    Every call, every referral, every briefing is part of our joint fight against terrorism...All these contributions are critically important to our ability to keep each other safe.
    Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/01/publics-help-is-vital-to-stopping-terrorists-says-met-commissioner

    Or his original article:http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/...39-times-a-day

    The cited 3,639 contributions he later detailed as people visiting CT-related training, briefings and websites.

    In fact the direct help was when members of the public assisted police by calling the confidential anti-terrorist hotline on average 32 times a day and making on average five referrals of extremist material online and two of potential radicalisation.

    For those who seek more there is a RUSI April 2016 podcast (33mins), when Mak Chisty, the UK's most senior Muslim police officer, responsible for CT & communities in London:https://rusi.org/event/terrorism-sta...securitisation
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-01-2016 at 10:01 AM. Reason: 81,906v
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  4. #164
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    A Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, including Britons, in what was described by police as a “spontaneous attack”.

    Speaking outside Scotland Yard headquarters, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said there was no evidence that the 19-year-old suspect had been radicalised or was motivated by terrorism and reasserted the view that “mental health issues” played a significant role.

    The suspect emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002, at the age of five, according to the Norwegian Embassy.

    “While the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,” Rowley said. “Indeed at this time we believe it was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random.”
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...erican-citizen

    Once again, insanity and radical Islam are not mutually exclusive. I'll bet this "Nothing found" in the first 24 hour news cycle changes as time passes, but promptly gets flushed down the memory hole.


    "Police arrested a 19-year-old Norwegian national of Somali origin. They say there is no evidence of radicalisation.

    Speaking at a press conference, the Met's assistant commissioner for specialist operations, Mark Rowley, said the police investigation "increasingly points" to the attack being "triggered by mental health issues"."
    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36972126

    Nothing to see here, move along. Move along. Move along.
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  5. #165
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    AdamG,

    Leaving aside the reporting so far I did wonder why the murder and attacks on others took place so close to the location so close to Russell Square. Where a London red double-decker bus was blown apart; the image became 'the' iconic image of the 7/7 bombings in 2005:

    Earlier in the day the Met Police (with Mayor Sadiq Khan) did a major PR show, on the increased numbers of armed police on patrol in London, in particular the specialist CT officers. It was the lead news item here and by the late evening had gone from the screens:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36961338
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  6. #166
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    Tangential location: Denial flows through the Outback.

    A Frenchman was on Thursday charged with stabbing to death a young British woman backpacker in Australia, but police found he showed no signs of radicalisation despite saying "Allahu Akbar" during the attack.

    Twenty-nine-year-old Smail Ayad was accused of stabbing Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, multiple times late Tuesday at a hostel in Home Hill, a rural town in north Queensland state.
    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...cid=spartandhp
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    Leaving aside the reporting so far I did wonder why the murder and attacks on others took place so close to the location so close to Russell Square.
    I always thought, and I think there was some journalistic reporting along similar lines, that the bomber was leaving his stomping ground of Edgware Road (large Arab population) and then bottled it, losing his nerve or resolve, only to finally think "#### it" and detonate far from his actual target. Funnily enough the bus was on its way past a stop I used to get off at for SOAS. SOAS, was formerly a prestigious institution but had, by the time I left in 2005, finally succumbed to the Muslim student body (the few Jewish students would often be seen leaving quickly to go to UCL and Hillel House and never socialised in SOAS itself). I wonder if the bomber was off to see his friends and show them his new outfit?


    Earlier in the day the Met Police (with Mayor Sadiq Khan) did a major PR show, ...
    Ah yes, Sadiq Khan, the leader of the Islamic fifth column's project of gleichschaltung in the London area of operations. A man who is backing Owen Smith (for obvious reasons) as the next leader of the Labour Party as opposed to its current leader Jeremy Corbyn (both of whom are utter twats) but who may actually merely be preparing to run as Vozhd'/Вождь himself.

    We live in interesting times.

  8. #168
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default Anjem Choudary: a problem inside, not outside

    An all too familiar face on UK TV screens, in newspapers and quite possibly a few times in the USA, a British Islamic radical Anjem Choudary was finally convicted two weeks ago:
    For 20 years Anjem Choudary stood on street corners, in shopping precincts, outside mosques, embassies and police stations and used his megaphone to drive a wedge between Muslims and the rest of Britain. Now he has been convicted of inviting others to support the Islamic State militant group.
    Link to a full account:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36979892



    He was always ready to speak to the media, although wary of documentary makers and to many became the voice of radical, violen Islam.

    He remains in custody awaiting sentencing next month and could get up to ten years in jail.

    An academic, Andrew Silke has written on what to expect when he is in jail. For reasons that defy an easy explanation handling convicted terrorists in UK jails is - to say the least - incomplete.
    Link:https://theconversation.com/how-can-...risoners-64144

    Just how Anjem Choudary evaded prosecution has been controversial for a long time; yes, he was a trained lawyer who knew where the legal limits on his words were. IIRC twice UK newspaper submitted evidence after his vitriolic speeches were caught on video. Several Muslims I know speculated he was really working for MI5.

    So this headline is not a shock:
    MI5 stopped Scotland Yard taking Choudary down, sources claim
    Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...sources-claim/
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  9. #169
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    Default Court sentenced him to...

    Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been jailed for five-and-a-half years for inviting support for the so-called Islamic State group....Both men were also sentenced to a notification order lasting 15 years, which requires them to tell police if details such as their address change.
    Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37284199

    Given the law on time served on remand and expected good behaviour The Guardian thinks:
    Choudary will serve two years behind bars...
    Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...upport-of-isis
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-23-2016 at 09:01 AM. Reason: 1192v until merged into this thread.
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  10. #170
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    Default Two "insiders" ask is UK CT working

    The about to retire lawyer, David Anderson, who is the Independent Reviewer of Counter-Terrorism Legislation, has commented on recent government legislation, the Investigative Powers Act (IPA), primarily on covert investigation (including "Big Brother" allegations) and a long awaited, draft bill on counter-extremism (undefined to date). In a BBC radio interview (28 mins):http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080t882

    His views are summarised in this report:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7502431.html

    At one point inthe BBC radio programme 'Prevent' is discussed by it's originator, Sir David Omand, who now expresses doubts; that it has gone too far (9.40-14.40).

    Sir David Omand, an ex-GCHQ Director and other security roles, discussed on BBC radio the IPA with David Anderson and they gave the clearest explanation for bulk data collection I have heard ever (IPA covers not just phone and email links). Bulk data has been much criticised - in part aided by the Snowden allegations - and recently deemed illegal for many years by a specialist court in late 2016:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b083r1jn
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-01-2017 at 09:09 PM. Reason: 100,008v
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  11. #171
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    David,

    The BBC over here had a bit on one of your civilian programs last week, pushing the 'run/hide/report' immediate action drills.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/c...-run-hide-tell

    Excellent site, in general.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...ecurity-office
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

  12. #172
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    AdamG,

    Some of the 'Plan' & 'Prepare' aspects of the UK's CT strategy are very good, but for obvious reasons are very London-centric or the big cities.

    'Run/Hide/Report' advice is somewhat marred by the public practice of taking out their cell / mobile hones and filming the scene in front of them. At one recent incident the first emergency call was twelve minutes after the incident and the first film footage was uploaded in two minutes. Leaving aside the capacity to accept calls from the public (a common issue internationally).
    davidbfpo

  13. #173
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    Default Where are we now and thank you David Anderson

    Prompted by the retirement soon of David Anderson, a commercial barrister (lawyer), who was appointed as the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in 2011, Peter Oborne has written a comprehensive review of terrorism as if effects the UK primarily.

    He ends with:
    Nevertheless, for six years, David Anderson has been a voice of sanity and a force for good. He has brought intellectual clarity, moral courage, a sense of perspective and, perhaps above all, earned the trust of all sides.
    Link:http://www.middleeasteye.net/essays/...rism-608161931
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-17-2017 at 09:30 PM. Reason: 107,736v 7k up in '17 so far!
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  14. #174
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    Default Two different views

    A short parting speech (32 mins), which is worth listening to - in part as the historical setting is given:
    Counter-terrorism as a field continues to present fundamental challenges not only to the rule of law and human rights, but also to systems of political accountability. In his lecture, David Anderson reflected on the development of UK counter-terrorism legislation from 2011 to 2017. He discussed the meaning of national security and consider the best structures for countering terrorism threats in a changing world.
    Link:https://rusi.org/event/terrorism-and...nal-security-0

    Then we have a retired senior CT police officer:
    A former counter-terrorism chief has revealed that he lies awake worrying about a mass casualty attack in London, as he issued a new warning about the threat posed by radicalisation in prisons.Richard Walton, who led the Met’s anti-terror command until his retirement last year, said the danger of a marauding firearms attack in the capital was a “constant anxiety”’ to police and the intelligence services.
    He also expressed concern about the potential ability of the large number of extremists in prison to radicalise vulnerable inmates and use their new criminal contacts to obtain guns.....are made in a BBC “drama-documentary” to be broadcast tomorrow. It depicts a fictional Islamic State-inspired plot, involving a drugs offender radicalised in prison by extremists, to carry out a firearms attack in the capital and shows the police attempts to foil the outrage.
    Such an attack has been raised as a possibility since at least Mumbai in 2008, often by those who had just retired. For reasons yet to be fully explained radicalization activity in prisons is not a success story.
    Link:http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime...-a3478831.html

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-01-2017 at 09:35 PM. Reason: 110,121v 2.5k up in a week
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  15. #175
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    Default Three questions

    Professor Paul Rogers has a commentary on UK CT; the summary states:
    The recent statement from the UK’s new Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation that the terrorist threat to the country is at its highest level since the 1970s raises at least three crucial questions that this briefing seeks to answer. Why is the apparent threat so high, and apparently rising, after 15 years of high-intensity ‘war’ against international terrorist groups? Why is the specific threat from Islamic State (IS) so substantial at present? Finally, and most overlooked, why is there such a disconnect between the intense war in Iraq and Syria and the perception of threat in the UK? As the Trump administration prepares a new, escalated strategy against IS, these questions matter more than ever for Trump’s closest allies.
    Link:http://oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/pu..._terror_threat

    Personally I suspect the public here will accept the approach taken at home and overseas - provided there is very limited "blow back". Killings on the scale seen in Belgium and France could easily end that acceptance, especially if those involved are returned "foreign fighters".
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-06-2017 at 05:29 PM. Reason: 111,116v up by 1k in 4 days, phew.
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  16. #176
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    Default Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998-2015)

    This weighty volume (1k pgs) and at a hefty price by the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based "think tank" with a "neo-con" character, was published last week.

    There are links to a four page infographic and summary:http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-co...nfographic.pdf

    A 22 pg summary:http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-co...d-analysis.pdf
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-16-2017 at 10:32 PM. Reason: 113,192v 2k up in a week
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  17. #177
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default Communities Defeat Terrorism

    Ten days ago UK CT's most senior police officer started a new campaign to explain and obtain greater public support. In doing so he revealed some new figures:
    ....there were 500 live counter-terror investigations at any time. Information from the public has helped police in a third of the most high-risk investigations, figures show.It has also contributed to stopping some of the 13 attacks - a figure one higher than the last update, given in October.
    Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39176110

    BBC News database 'Who are Britain’s jihadists?'. Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32026985

    A commentary:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39183003

    There are two podcasts: Hostile Reconnaissance (23 mins) and Multiple Bombings (18 mins):
    They tell previously untold stories of how terrorist attacks on UK soil were prevented thanks to information from the public.
    Link to the campaign:https://act.campaign.gov.uk/

    There is a fuller post on the public contribution in another thread:What & Who discovers terrorist plots?
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-16-2017 at 11:46 PM.
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  18. #178
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    Default Westminster attack 22nd March 2017

    Yesterday's attack by one man, yet to be id'd, using a SUV and an edged weapon to kill four people - including one unarmed police officer - dominates the news here. Seven arrests have followed, including one of more in Birmingham (nearby to me) and UK CT will be very busy.

    One commentary starts with a sub-title:
    After a run of 12 foiled terrorist plots, luck ran out at Westminster for the UK’s intelligence agencies. Now they must ask if they could have stopped it
    Then it ends citing the previous Security Service (MI5) Director's interview in November 2016:
    The reality is that because of the investment in services like mine, the UK has got good defences. My expectation is that we will find and stop most attempts at terrorism in this country.
    Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...urity-services

    Just whether "life will remain normal" in Westminster depends on the public's reaction, whatever the politicians say. The TV is reporting here yet more concrete blocks are arriving; once in place such defences rarely removed.

    Yesterday was the anniversary of the Brussels attack, a point lost here in the media reporting - although one image of the memorial service was shown.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 06-12-2017 at 07:54 PM.
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  19. #179
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    Default An attack on all of us


    This message from one of B'ham largest mosques came via Twitter. I expect others have issued similar statements.
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  20. #180
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    Default ISIS claims the attack

    Posted a year ago via CTC:https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-i...-terror-trials

    Via Twitter.
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