Matt Jukes, deputy commissioner of the London Police Service, told Sky News that counter-terrorism policing had gathered 25% more intelligence than in previous years, a “significant increase on our usual levels”.
“Put simply, this means more information about potential terrorism and violent extremism flowing through our systems, from online reports, public reports and MI5,” Jukes said.
Jukes, who previously served as chief constable of South Wales Police, has been head of special operations at Scotland Yard for the past two years. He warned that Islamic extremists have gained particular impetus from this conflict.
“It is difficult to remember a more unstable, dangerous and uncertain world,” Jukes said. “The scale and speed of impact of global events is extraordinary, even in the context of our experience.”
“When events happen around the world they always have resonance at home and especially in our very different urban communities, but what we have clearly seen is fear, anxiety, uncertainty and a whole range of very significant reactions in British communities.”
Red anti-terrorism hotline
Following the Hamas terror attack on Israel on 7 October, at least 33 people were arrested in Britain for terrorism offences: 19 of them linked to the protests, 13 to social media and one to the alleged attack. Seven people have been charged so far and the others have been released on bail or are still under investigation.
There has been a “dramatic increase” in calls to the anti-terrorism hotline, doubling in the two weeks following the October 7 attack.
The Online Counter-Terrorism Unit has received more than 3,000 reports of “objectionable” material, 700 of which have been identified as UK-linked and potentially in breach of the law.
Twenty percent of people arrested recently in connection with terrorism or other extremism were minors, and children as young as 11 have been involved in “very disturbing conversations” online, Jukes said.
“It’s extraordinary and I think it shows the volume and intensity of online rhetoric about the ongoing conflict,” Jukes said. “We always see spikes after terrorist incidents, but what we’ve seen since October 7 has been bigger and more sustained than ever. What is happening online is unprecedented in our experience. And all this online extremism is part of a dangerous climate. I think it brings us to a point that we might describe as a moment of radicalization.”
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2024-01-20 12:13:28
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