(London) British parliamentarians were alarmed on Tuesday at the increased threat of far-right terrorism in the United Kingdom, urging the army and police to tighten controls within them.
The phenomenon “has increased steadily” since 2017, underlines in its annual report the parliamentary committee on intelligence and security.
A growing number of young people under the age of 24 are being targeted by British domestic intelligence services (MI5) for links to far-right terrorism, say the parliamentarians in particular.
“The new threat of far-right terrorism is fragmented and complex, increasingly fueled by the internet and characterized by a tech-savvy population, made up mostly of young men, many still teenagers, who are typically ‘terrorists’. self-initiated,'” the report said.
The report also points out that few of the individuals monitored belong to organized groups, making it difficult to identify and track them.
Counter-terrorism services prevented 25 attacks between March 2017 and January 2020. Of these, eight were far-right terrorism, the report said, citing “very individualistic” motivations.
“Determining how, why and when they can choose to attack therefore poses a particularly significant challenge,” it added.
The parliamentarians insist that the police and army do more to identify and eliminate real or potential threats within them.
Far-right extremists often have an interest in military culture, weapons, armed forces and law enforcement organizations, the report claims. They may join the army or the police or seek recruitment from these institutions.
The British armed forces, however, have no clear guidelines regarding the membership of their personnel in organizations, “let alone (an organization) extremist”, says the commission.
It “seems to be quite a risky approach” given the sensitive roles that staff can play,” it added.
There is “particular concern” among the police over a “lack of thorough background checks” of recruited personnel.
The Intelligence and Security Committee has in the past criticized the British government for failing to investigate in time possible Russian interference in British political life, notably at the time of the Brexit referendum in 2016.