UK’s counter-terror chief warns of ‘unprecedented’ rise in terrorism threat since Israel-Gaza war started
Police have seen an “unprecedented” rise in the threat from terrorism following the conflict in Gaza, which has become a “radicalisation moment”, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer has said.
Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Matt Jukes said there had been a 25% increase in intelligence coming into counter-terrorism police, “a significant increase on our usual levels”.
“In simple terms, that means more intelligence about potential terrorism and violent extremism, flowing through our systems than in recent years, from online reports, public reports and from MI5,” Mr Jukes told a briefing of journalists.
Having previously served as chief constable for South Wales Police, Mr Jukes has been head of specialist operations at Scotland Yard for the last two years, and said Islamist extremists had been “energised by this conflict”.
“It’s hard to remember a more unstable, dangerous and uncertain world. I have not seen the conditions collide in the way we have in the last months during my tenure,” he said.
“The speed and the scale of the impact of global events are extraordinary, even in the context of our experience.
“If events happen around the world, they will invariably pull a thread in the UK, and particularly in its very diverse city communities, but what we have seen clearly is fear, anxiety, uncertainty, a whole range of very significant reactions amongst UK communities.”
‘Surge’ in calls to anti-terrorism hotline
Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October there have been 33 arrests for terrorism offences – 19 related to protests, 13 to social media and one to an alleged attack. Seven people have been charged as a result of the arrests and the rest remain on bail or under investigation.
There has been a “surge” in calls to the anti-terrorism hotline and in the two weeks after the initial attack, the number doubled.
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The counter-terrorism internet referral unit received over 3,000 referrals for “objectionable” material, 700 of which have been identified as having a link to the UK and potentially breaching legislation.
Of those recently arrested, 20% have been children under the age of 18 and children as young as 11 have been involved in “very troubling conversations” online.
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“That is extraordinary and, I think, demonstrates the volume and the intensity of online rhetoric around the ongoing conflict,” Mr Jukes said.
“We always see spikes after terrorist incidents but what we’ve seen since 7 October has been a spike which is higher and more sustained than ever before. This is playing out online in a way which is, in our experience, unprecedented.
“All of that online extremism is part of a dangerous climate. I think that puts us at a point which we would describe as a radicalisation moment.”
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‘Most acute period since Cold War’
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre run by MI5, which assesses the UK threat level, has kept the level at “substantial” meaning an attack is “likely” but “continues to review all of this information”, Mr Jukes said.
Scotland Yard has also opened a unit to deal with “hostile state actors”, mainly related to the “triple threat” from Iran, Russia and China.
In the last five years there have been 20 arrests under the Official Secrets Act, but half of those were in 2023, which Mr Jukes described as “the most acute period since the Cold War”.
It comes as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned that the world could be engulfed by wars involving China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in the next five years, adding the “era of the peace dividend is over”.
Grant Shapps sent a message directly to NATO allies
In a speech on 15 January, Mr Shapps spoke directly to NATO allies, urging them to grow their defence budgets, insisting that the UK would strive to reach its own goal of 2.5% “as soon as possible”.
On Friday he added that “it is vital that we continue to lead, deter hostile states and act to defend our country whenever and wherever we need”.
“I would also say that nothing is inevitable. We can deter such threats by being prepared and standing strong with our allies. That is why we are investing in our armed forces and our allies,” he told The Telegraph.
“This is not about being alarmist. It’s about being ready and being in the right place to defend our interests.”
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His warning was echoed by German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, who said on Friday that Russia could attack NATO within five years.
‘Danger of history repeating itself’
Despite the looming international threat, the size of the British Army is shrinking, and fast, according to one former chief of the general staff.
Under government proposals, the size of the regular army will be cut from 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025, but analysis by The Times newspaper suggested numbers could drop below that as soon as next year and continue on a steep downward trajectory.
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General Lord Dannatt warned of a “serious danger of history repeating itself” unless more is invested in Britain’s armed forces.
He called for pay and conditions to be “urgently reviewed” and drew parallels with the 1930s when the “woeful” state of the UK’s armed forces failed to deter Hitler.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “Whilst there are undoubted challenges to military recruitment, people are at the heart of the military and the MoD is taking tangible and concrete steps to address shortfalls. More widely the UK is spending more than £50bn on defence this year to protect our interests wherever they are threatened.”
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will be appearing on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday Morning programme tomorrow from 8.30am.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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