UK’s Terrorism Threat Comes From Within, Says Security Expert

Police secure the area, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, on July 29, 2024. James Speakman/PA via AP

The threat to UK national security comes “from within” and is compounded by systemic complacency, lack of resources, and fear among authorities of accusations of racism when exercising power, a security specialist has warned.

Moign Khawaja, professor of security studies at Dublin City University, called for more government investment and community engagement to address terrorism concerns. He stressed the importance of ensuring that public reports of suspected terrorism-linked activity “are not swept under the carpet.”

“Often individuals, who are reported, somehow slip the net. And at times it’s complacency. Sometimes the fear of being accused of racism plays a role, because if the public refers an individual to the authorities or if the police go ahead and arrest this individual, they might be perceived as racist.

“The rule of law should be the same for any offender, regardless of their skin colour or ethnicity.

“Policing needs to be tightened. Police forces need more investment and powers. At the same time community needs to be engaged and people need to be entrusted with their opinions,” Khawaja said.

The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy has been questioned after it emerged that the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana had been referred to the Prevent programme prior to killing three children and seriously injuring 10 others in July 2024.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has acknowledged that multiple agencies failed to identify risks posed by Rudakubana and ordered a review of the anti-terror programme on Tuesday.

Introduced in 2003, Prevent aims to divert people, especially teenagers and other young people, away from Islamic and other forms of extremism. However, since its introduction, several attacks were carried out by individuals previously referred to the programme.

According to Khawaja, Prevent has not been entirely unsuccessful, but he acknowledged the scheme’s shortcomings, including failures such as Rudakubana’s case. Reflecting on its implementation, he noted that Prevent has been criticised for being “quite shallow” and “not very integrated.”

Khawaja said it’s important to avoid scapegoating any single community, but added that those who come to the UK “should be willing to assimilate.”

“There has to be a proper conversation and reinforcement of Western values, whatever they may be, but you need to give moderates a voice, and you can’t just focus on extremists,” he said.

‘New’ Threat

Addressing the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK faces a “new” threat of terrorism, which the existing framework and laws are not adequately equipped to handle.

He attributed acts of extreme violence to “loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom,” who access harmful online content and commit violent acts for attention, sometimes influenced by terrorist groups.

“It is a new threat, it’s not what we would have usually thought of as terrorism when definitions were drawn up, when guidelines were put in place, when the framework was put in place and we have to recognise that here today,” he said, pledging reforms.

However, Conservative MP David Davis has contested Starmer’s characterisation, asserting that lone-wolf terrorist attacks have been occurring for nearly a decade. He cited the Westminster Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks in 2017, as well as the assassinations of MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess.

Floral tributes for Jo Cox lay on Parliament Square, outside the House of Parliament in London, on June 17, 2016. Matt Dunham/AP Photo

“All of those attacks were carried out by self-radicalised single psychopaths,” Davis said on social media platform X, accusing Starmer of being “disingenuous” in describing this as a new threat.

Khawaja agreed that while the threat may appear novel, its roots are not.

“The frequency has increased over the years, and the attackers’ profile is a bit different from what it was before. They are younger, and most of them, especially in the Southport case, are recent converts.

“You can say that in the past, it was somehow influenced by ISIS and al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations, and now it’s more over an ideology or political. But the form itself is not really new. It’s been there for ages,” he said.

Legal Framework

Last year saw an annual increase in the number of terrorism-related arrests, according to Home Office figures. By June 30, 2024, 252 individuals were in custody for terrorism-related offences, up from the year before.

According to MI5, 13 percent of those investigated for involvement in UK terrorism are now under 18.

“We’re encountering more volatile would-be terrorists with only a tenuous grasp of the ideologies they profess to follow. People viewing both extreme right wing and Islamist extremist instructional material, along with other bits of online hatred, conspiracy theories and disinformation,” said MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum.

Current legislation, including the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, criminalises accessing terrorist material online and bolsters border controls.

The Terrorism Act 2006 and Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 address modern threats like online radicalisation, foreign fighters, and preparation for attacks, introducing measures like Prevent duty, Temporary Exclusion Orders, and stricter surveillance. The latter is a contentious issue, with privacy advocates warning that the measure grants the government excessive powers under the guise of counter-terrorism.

Despite Rudakubana’s guilty plea to charges including the production of the deadly poison ricin and possession of an al-Qaeda training manual, his case has been deemed insufficient to establish clear terrorist intent.

Khawaja said that as long as the motivation for an attack is political, it should fall under terrorism.

“You can have a number of definitions but if you start making exceptions, we are going down a slippery slope. You have to call a spade a spade. And if someone had any kind of political motivations, whether it’s Islamic or whether it’s far-right or far-left, it is terrorism,” he said.

Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing by video-link from Belmarsh prison at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, on Oct. 30, 2024. Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire

Ideological Complexity and Mental Health

The interplay of ideology, social factors, and mental health creates fertile ground for extremism. Khawaja emphasised that it’s rarely a single factor, describing it as “always a combination” of issues, including social isolation, economic hardship, and evolving technology.

“You have these online platforms that are acting like echo chambers, where individuals hear the same thing over and over again. Their views are reinforced. It just helps them commit whatever they think is the right thing to do, whether it is stabbing young girls or shooting innocent people,” he said.

Peer pressure, particularly among recent Islam converts, further exacerbates the issue, Khawaja said, adding there is lack of follow-up by communities to ensure proper integration.

The intersection of mental health and terrorism poses additional challenges. MI5 has highlighted the increasing difficulty of determining whether attacks are driven by ideology or mental health issues.

While the government’s review of Prevent thresholds considers cases involving mental ill-health or neurodivergence, Khawaja warned against focusing solely on mental health and neglecting ideological factors.

“I think that’s quite wrong, and it can backfire. You have to tackle both,” he said.

Looking ahead, Khawaja called for reforms to the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy. These include creating more comprehensive public anti-terrorism education, encouraging community participation, and addressing the use of AI by offenders to plan and execute attacks.