Ministers 'failed to act on major anti-terror report'

October 18, 2021

Ministers have ‘failed to act on a major anti-terror report’ which called for ‘dangerous legal loopholes’ to be closed as Dominic Raab defends the Government’s flagship Prevent counter-extremism programme

Co-author of anti-terror report said he is yet to hear back from the Home Office
Report by Sir Mark Rowley, ex-head of anti-terror police, published in February
Review found laws were needed to stop hateful groups ‘operating with impunity’

Ministers have failed to respond to a major anti-terror report published in February which called for a crackdown on ‘dangerous’ legal ‘loopholes’, it was claimed today.

Sir Mark Rowley, the former head of UK anti-terror policing, co-authored a review into the nation’s counter-terrorism strategies which found new laws were needed to stop hateful groups from ‘operating with impunity’.

The review was published in February but Sir Mark said he had heard nothing back from the Home Office on the recommendations it made.

It came as Dominic Raab defended the Government’s flagship counter-terrorism Prevent programme amid questions over whether it is fit for purpose following the killing of Tory MP Sir David Amess.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab today defended the Government’s flagship counter-terrorism Prevent programme

Sir Mark conducted the review along with the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE).

It said extremists were exploiting gaps between existing hate crime and terrorism legislation.

But as counter-terror police continue to investigate the killing of Sir David, Sir Mark told The Independent that ministers have not provided a response to the review.

‘I have had no feedback from the Home Office on their plans in relation to our report on the absence of a coherent legal framework to tackle hateful extremism,’ Sir Mark, who retired as the head of UK counter-terrorism policing in 2018, told the newspaper.

‘It remains legal in some circumstances intentionally to stir up race or religious hatred or to glorify terrorism.

‘These are dangerous loopholes highlighted in our report that continue to be exploited by hateful extremists.’

The CCE – set up by Theresa May after the Manchester Arena attack – has repeatedly warned that more needs to be done to tackle terrorism threats facing the UK, including closing legal loopholes that allow those who inspired terrorists to go free.

But the newspaper said ministers have not formally responded to any CCE reports released since 2019 and no suggested measures have been enacted.

Sir David was attacked while meeting constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on Friday.

A 25-year-old man, understood to be Ali Harbi Ali, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of Sir David’s murder and remains in police custody.

He has been detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and a warrant of further detention, which allows detectives to hold the suspect until October 22, was granted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police earlier said its investigation had ‘revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism’.

The Home Office would not comment on reports that the suspect had previously been referred to the Prevent programme which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

Mr Raab, the Justice Secretary, today defended the Prevent programme and said he feels more at risk from ‘misguided or mentally unwell’ people.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I personally think I’m more at risk from those who are either misguided or mentally unwell than from a concerted, organised terrorist attack.

‘But Prevent is important. It is one line of defence, one mitigation against the risks we face.

‘Prevent is under review, it has been under iterative review throughout its existence; we will of course learn all the lessons as the result of that and this terrible, appalling case.’

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