UK Failing to Adapt to ‘Shifting’ Terror Threats, Warns Watchdog
14:03 GMT 04.06.2022 (Updated: 15:19 GMT 28.05.2023)
© AP Photo / Peter Byrne
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Against the backdrop of the fifth anniversary of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack, in which eight people were killed and 48 were injured, a UK watchdog weighed in on the terror threat shifts since then.
The vital role played by psychologists in counter-terrorism operations has been underscored by the UK Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.
Against the backdrop of commemorations across the United Kingdom to mark the fifth anniversary of the terror attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, Jonathan Hall QC was cited by the Observer as deploring how behavioural scientists are not often enough deployed to evaluate threats.
At the same time, he warned that the number of neurodivergent individuals under investigation has been steadily on the rise. Neurodiversity (ND) refers to variations in the human brain and cognition, for instance in “sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions.”
The watchdog pointed to the challenge of evaluating the threat from individuals with conditions like autism, saying:
“You are seeing a lot more neurodivergence and mental health coming into terrorist investigations, and that’s also having an impact on deradicalisation programmes. When you see [counter-terrorism] officials trying to work out what the behaviour of a person means – and what might counteract it – it’s odd not to have a psychologist present.”
Shift From ‘Old-School’ Threats
Jonathan Hall, appointed Queens' Counsel (QC) in 2014, was giving an interview timed to the anniversary of the London Bridge and Borough Market attack five years ago.
Jonathan Hall QC (2022): The Role of the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism
— Independent Reviewer (@terrorwatchdog) June 3, 2022
Legislation, Judicial Review: https://t.co/A9FTIf5zOu
He underscored the evolving nature of the UK’s terrorist threat since then. According to him, if previously the ringleaders were recognised terror groups such as al-Qaida*, now a “leaderless resistance model” has emerged. This meant that a different type of individual was being drawn into terrorism, warned Hall.
“Old-school terrorist groups like the IRA wouldn’t want to employ people who are mentally ill or neurodivergent; they wouldn’t want people who might let the side down, who might give away secrets or be weak soldiers,” said Hall.
“This leaderless resistance, self-initiating stuff – facilitated by the internet – is a really profound move away from groups,” added the watchdog.
As an example of a heightened threat from lone attackers, he cited the recent US mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.
3 June 2022, 23:48 GMT
On May 14, a white gunman entered a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, killing 10 Black Americans and wounding three others. On May 24, 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman in Uvalde, Texas. Just days later, a third mass shooting at an Oklahoma medical facility killed five victims.
According to Hall, both the Buffalo shooter and the Uvalde killer “chose to become shooters, emulating a pattern of behaviour that is widely glorified online. Whether you apply a terrorist label or not, they had the same capacity for violence.”
Pointing to leaked draft extracts from a government-commissioned review of its counter-terrorism strategy, Prevent, expected to advocate greater focus on Islamism, Jonathan Hall said the recommendation appeared at odds with a documented rise in “mixed, unstable or unclear” ideologies.
Jonathan Hall also acknowledged that there is still no “off-the-shelf” programme able to successfully deradicalise terrorists.
“It’s impossible because you’re dealing with human nature. No one in the world has said we’ve now got peer-reviewed evidence as to what works and we’re administering it,” said Hall.
*Al Qaeda is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.
