According to UK's domestic spying agency MI5, the threat of "far-right terrorism" in the UK is "absolutely dwarfed" compared to the threat of radical Islam.
The assessment was buried halfway through a 16 March Guardian report, Rise in UK use of far-right online forums as anti-Muslim hate increases, which suggested the intelligence service had identified around 700 live terror plots and 20,000 people considered "closed subjects of concern" — ie who who may pose a future threat — are related to right-wing extremism.
UK authorities have long-emphasised the risk of far-right terrorism, with then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd warning in October 2017 people viewing so-called "far-right propaganda" online could face up to 15 years' imprisonment under new counter-extremist legislation.
The proposals were severely criticised by then-terror watchdog Max Hill QC, now Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, who warned the Government could end up criminalising "thought without action or preparation for action".
"The struggle for national security must not be used as a stick to beat down the rights we hold dear. If that were to happen, terrorism would have prevailed," he added.
Hate Not Hope
Ironically, the article stated research by Soros-funded self-described 'anti-fascist' group Hope Not Hate indicates huge numbers of Britons are among the global audience for what was described as "far-right forums," such as Stormfront, that spread extremist ideolology.
While held in high esteem by UK politicians and the media, the Swedish Defence Research Agency, a subsidiary of Sweden's Ministry of Defence, has identified Hope Not Hate as a "facilitator of information for far-left extremists", and an infiltrator of right-wing movements.
Apologies if we go a bit quiet, it will take a while to trek out to Sevenoaks… You know where to head to now or who to call if you want to know why a community arts centre is hosting a Nazi gathering pic.twitter.com/NVsTdrzvDr
— Anti-Fascist Network (@AntiFascistNetw) April 14, 2018
In April 2018, the organisation tweeted the private location of a conference being held by the anti-mass migration Generation Identity activist group, which was then republished by the Antifascist Network's Twitter account. Not long after the release of the address, Antifa activists arrived at the site and engaged in violence, with one of their number arrested by police.
