Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Bath PHD Understanding Counter-Terrorism Policy and Practice in the UK since 9/11 Sabir, Rizwaan Sabir Award date: 2014 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 Understanding Counter-Terrorism Policy and Practice in the UK since 9/11 Rizwaan Sabir A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Bath Department of Social and Policy Sciences March 2014 COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with the author. A copy of this thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that they must not copy it or use material from it except as permitted by law or with the consent of the author. Contents Acknowledgements i Abstract ii List of Figures iii List of Acronyms iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Theorising ‘Power’ and Counter-Terrorism 12 Chapter 2: Methodology 42 Chapter 3: Pursue 94 Chapter 4: Prevent 132 Chapter 5: Prevent, Universities and Intelligence 167 Chapter 6: Counter-Terrorism as Counterinsurgency 195 Conclusion 227 Bibliography 236 Acknowledgements Thank you to the Economic, Social and Research Council (ESRC) for providing me with the resources to undertake this research. Thank you to all the respondents who took time out of their busy schedules to share their experiences, feelings and inner thoughts with me. My research experience would not have been as interesting or as enlightening without your contribution. My family - mum and dad, my grandmother, my brothers Irfan and Hamaad, and my sister Aneesa. They believed when I lost faith. They showed patience when I showed none. They showed me the meaning of unconditional love. Thank you to my supervisor, Professor David Miller. He never told me what to do or how to do it. Instead, he guided me toward that which was half asleep within me. There are no words to describe my gratitude for all that Dr Rod Thornton has done for me. Without his trust, support and help, I would not have gotten this far. From the moment I began my research until present, Dr Arun Kundnani was there, answering my never ending stream of questions and queries, reading through drafts and offering his expertise. Never did an email or call go unanswered. Never was he too busy for me. A friend and inspiration. Thank you. Thank you to my friend and mentor, Dr Maria Ryan, who helped me bring a sense of balance to my thinking and helped me stay alert and awake with the most delicious of coffee. Finally, a huge thank you to my friends - for their understanding, love and support. i Abstract This dissertation is an examination of the UK’s counter-terrorism policies and practices that have been adopted since the attacks of 9/11 in the United States. Using a theoretical framework of ‘power’ and ‘hegemony’ to guide the research, and an investigative research approach, the dissertation examines how the UK has, in the name of confronting an ideologically and religiously motivated global opponent, enacted a two pronged approach that integrates key aspects of counterinsurgency doctrine and practice. The first ties into the use of ‘coercion’ that is undertaken under the policy heading of ‘Pursue’ and covers activities that revolve around the use of policing, military, juridical and executive powers to investigate, prosecute and take preventative and pre-emptive action against suspected terrorists and the second ties into the use of ‘propaganda’ and ‘communication’ that is undertaken through the ‘Prevent’ policy, which attempts to challenge and counter those individuals who do not promulgate unlawful or violent views but support al-Qaida’s grievances and ideology and are thus claimed to be more likely to become involved in terrorism. In order to inform Prevent activity, information and intelligence – a cardinal principle of counterinsurgency – is a prerequisite. This dissertation therefore shows how intelligence and information is collected and used by examining Prevent activity at UK universities. It then proceeds to contextualise counter-terrorism policy and practice through an examination of counterinsurgency doctrine, and in particular, ‘strategic communication’. The dissertation argues that the integration of key elements of counterinsurgency doctrine into counter-terrorism policy and practice suggests that the policy, rather than being a mere response to terrorism, is an organised and strategic effort to use coercion and propaganda to control the behaviour and activity of Muslim communities and thereby constitutes a form of state-terrorism. ii List of Figures Figure 1: Breakdown of the total number of FOI requests sent by organisation (p.68) Figure 2: Funding issued by FCO, OSCT and CLG for Prevent from 2007 – 2011. (p.142) Figure 3: Breakdown of funding provided to National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group (NMWAG) for 2007-2011 (p.146) Figure 4: Quilliam Foundation sources of funding for 2009-2010 (p.148) Figure 5: Yearly breakdown of Channel referrals from 2006-2013 (p.158) Figure 6: UK Counter-Terrorism Structure (p.114) Figure 7: Total number of people arrested, charged under the Terrorism Acts 2000, 2006, ATCSA 2001, PTA 2005 and TPIMs Act 2011 and subsequently convicted under the Terrorism Acts 2000 & 2006 from 2001 until 2011. (p.121) Figure 8: Indicators used to assess vulnerability to radicalisation (p.179) Figure 9: Nottinghamshire Police Criminal Intelligence System entry (p.186) Figure 10: Nottinghamshire Police Intelligence Report (p.186) Figure 11: Breakdown of Prevent activity to be undertaken at all levels. (p.207) Figure 12: ‘Surface and Subsurface Elements of an Insurgency’. (p.208) iii List of Acronyms AC – Assistant Commissioner ACPO – Association of Chief Police Officers ACPO TAM – Association of Chief Police Officers (Terrorism and Allied Matters) ACT NOW – All Communities Together AMOSSHE - Association of Managers for Student Services in Higher Education ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition AQ – Al-Qaida AQAP - al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ATCSA – Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 AUCSO - Association of Chief Security Officers BHD - British Hajj Delegation BIS – Department for Business, Innovation and Skills BSA – British Sociological Association CBRN - chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear CCC – Creating Caring Communities CCTV – Close Circuit Television CLF - The Community Leadership Fund CLG – Department for Communities and Local Government CONTEST – Counter Terrorism Strategy CPS – Crown Prosecution Service CRU – Central Referral Unit CSC – Centre for Social Cohesion CT – Counter-Terrorism CTC – Counter-Terrorism Command CTIU – Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Unit CTLP – Counter-Terrorism Local Profiles CTU – Counter-Terrorism Unit DAC – Detective Assistant Commissioner DOJ – Department of Justice DPA – Data Protection Act DPP - Director of Public Prosecutions iv ECHR - European Convention of Human Rights EEA - European Economic Area EIW - Engaging with the Islamic World ELG – Executive Liaison Group EU - European Union Europol – European Police Office FCO – Foreign and Commonwealth Office FOI – Freedom of Information GCHQ – Government Communication Headquarters GMP – Greater Manchester Police HJS – Henry Jackson Society HMIC - Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC HT – Hizb ut-Tahrir ICO – Information Commissioner’s Office I-Ops – Information Operations IRA – Irish Republican Army JTAC – Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre KLE – Key Leader Engagement MCB – Muslim Council of Britain MCU - Muslim Community Organisation MCU – Muslim Contact Unit MI5 – Security Services MI6 - Secret Intelligence Service MoD – Ministry of Defence MPAC - Muslim Public Affairs Committee MPS – Metropolitan Police Service MSF – Muslim Safety Forum NCSB - National Coordinating Office of Special Branch NIM - National Intelligence Model NMWAG – National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group NUS - National Union of Students NWCTU – North West Counter-Terrorism Unit v OSCT – Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism Unit PAHELO - Police Association of Higher Education Liaison Officers PBI – Projecting British Islam PMLO – Police Military Liaison Officer PNC – Police National Computer PND – Police National Database PSCO – Police Community Support Officer PSNI - Police Service in Northern Ireland PsyOps – Psychological Operations RICU - Research, Information and Communication Unit RMW – Radical Middle Way SIAC – Special Immigration Appeals Court SNP – Scottish National Party SOCA - Serious Organised Crime Agency SPO - Security & Partnership Officers TACT – Terrorism Act TPIM’s – Terrorism Prevention
Recommended publications
  • No.116: Military Reform
    No. 116 9 July 2012 russian analytical digest www.res.ethz.ch www.laender-analysen.de MILITARY REFORM ■■ANALYSIS Military Reform in Russia 2 By Bettina Renz, Nottingham and Rod Thornton, Hewler ■■ANALYSIS Russia’s Conscription Problem 5 By Rod Thornton, Hewler ■■OPINION POLL Attitudes Towards Military Reform and Conscription 8 Institute for European, Research Centre Center for German Association for Russian, and Eurasian Studies Institute of History for East European Studies Security Studies East European Studies The George Washington University of Zurich University University of Bremen ETH Zurich RUSSIAN ANALYTICAL DIGEST No. 116, 9 July 2012 2 ANALYSIS Military Reform in Russia By Bettina Renz, Nottingham and Rod Thornton, Hewler Abstract The Russian military is currently undergoing a modernization process. It is long overdue. After the end of the Cold War, the armed forces received little investment and any changes made were mostly minor. The main effort went into the replacing of conscripts with professional service personnel. Little new equipment was procured and structures and outlook remained wedded to Cold War philosophies. This all changed, how- ever, with the war against Georgia in 2008. It was the Russian failures seen in this conflict that began the current, well-financed modernization drive. This process is, though, not without its problems. ussia’s post-Cold War political leaders and senior tions seen in the World Wars and which were later envis- Rmilitary officers were well aware, ever since the aged as likely by both sides in the Cold War. But post- Soviet Union broke up in 1991, that the country’s armed 1989, western militaries soon realised that the division forces were in urgent need of radical reform.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Citizens of the Region': Regionalist Conceptions of Citizenship
    Edinburgh Research Explorer ‘Citizens of the Region’ Citation for published version: Hepburn, E 2011, '‘Citizens of the Region’: Party Conceptions of Regional Citizenship and Immigrant Integration', European Journal of Political Research, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 504-529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01940.x Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01940.x Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version Published In: European Journal of Political Research Publisher Rights Statement: © Hepburn, E. (2011). ‘Citizens of the Region’: Party Conceptions of Regional Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. European Journal of Political Research, 50(4), 504-529doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01940.x General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 © Hepburn, E. (2011). ‘Citizens of the Region’: Party Conceptions of Regional Citizenship and
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Relief Charity / Extremism / Terror
    Islamic Relief Charity / Extremism / Terror meforum.org Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3 From Birmingham to Cairo �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4 Origins ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Branches and Officials ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9 Government Support ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 17 Terror Finance ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 Hate Speech ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Charity, Extremism & Terror ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 29 What Now? �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32 Executive Summary What is Islamic Relief? Islamic Relief is one of the largest Islamic charities in the world. Founded in 1984, Islamic Relief today maintains
    [Show full text]
  • 04 E 157 Traianou AFT Mdh E015p039
    Vol. 15: 39–47, 2015 ETHICS IN SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS Published online May 27 doi: 10.3354/esep00157 Ethics Sci Environ Polit Contribution to the Theme Section ‘Academic freedom and tenure’ OPENPEN ACCESSCCESS AS I SEE IT The erosion of academic freedom in UK higher education Anna Traianou* Department of Educational Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, SE14 6NW, UK ABSTRACT: In this article, I treat ‘academic freedom’ as referring to the autonomy that academics need if they are to do their work well, on analogy with what is required in other professional occupations. In these terms, I argue that there are 2 aspects of academic freedom: the degree of autonomy that universities have from governments, and the autonomy that academics have within universities. Using this framework, I explore how, from the 1980s onwards, UK governments have increasingly intervened in higher education, on the basis of the assumption that universities must serve the economy, seeking to maximize and measure the ‘returns’ on public investment. I argue that these external developments have promoted internal changes within universities away from collegial modes of organization and towards more managerial ones, and as a result have signifi- cantly reduced academic freedom. I conclude by briefly examining developments in the UK in terms of a rather different conception of academic freedom, one that is currently quite influential, which virtually identifies it with ‘free speech’ for academics and students. KEY WORDS: Academic freedom · Neoliberalism · New public management · UK higher education · Professionalism · Free speech INTRODUCTION which have not opposed the siege of Gaza (see But- ler 2006, Goldberg 2013, Robin 2014).
    [Show full text]
  • To Racism & Fascism to Islamophobia
    SCOTLAND UNITED AGAINST RACISM & FASCISM SATASSEMBLE GLASGOW 14 GREEN ~ NELSON’S NOV COLUMN ~ NOON MARCH AND RALLY TO RACISM & FASCISM TO ISLAMOPHOBIA NO TO THE ENGLISH/SCOTTISH DEFENCE LEAGUE TO A MULTICULTURAL, MULTIRELIGIOUS, MULTIRACIAL, YES UNITED SCOTLAND JOIN A DAY OF CELEBRATION www.scotlandunited.org Sponsors include: Scottish Trades Union Congress, Fire Brigades Union Scotland, STUC Black Workers Committee, Unite Against Fascism, Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance, Aamer Anwar - Human Rights Lawyer, Osama Saeed - Scottish Islamic Foundation, Sikhs for Scotland, Indian Workers Association, Positive Action in Housing, Scottish Afghan Society, Malcolm Chisholm MSP (Labour), Bob Doris MSP (SNP), Pauline McNeill MSP (Labour), Elaine Smith MSP (Labour), Robert Brown MSP (Liberal Democrats), Sandra White MSP (SNP), Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP (SNP), Dr Bill Wilson SNP, Anne McGaughlin MSP (SNP), Michael McMahon MSP (Labour), Alasdair Allan MSP (SNP), Patrick Harvie MSP (Greens), Bill Kidd MSP (SNP), Angela Constance MSP (SNP), Cathy Peatie (MSP), Dave Thompson MSP, Prof Christopher Harvie MSP, Tommy Sheridan, Solidarity, Rev Ian Galloway Church of Scotland, Scotland Against Criminalising Communities, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Elaine C Smith, Mark Thomas Comedian, Show Racism the Red Card, Stop the War Coalition, Scottish Socialist Party, Rev Martin Johnstone (Faith in Community Scotland), Dr Rowena Arshad (Academic & Activist), Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, CEMVO Scotland, Scottish Interfaith Council ‘Scotland United’ is a coming Asian people – or back to the 1930s together of trade unionists, anti- when Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts racists, and faith groups for one targeted Jews in the East End of purpose to hold a rally & march to London. celebrate multicultural Glasgow on The fascists of the BNP or the SDL/ Saturday 14th November.
    [Show full text]
  • Centre for Social Cohesion
    Centre for Social Cohesion 4th Floor Clutha House 10 Storey’s Gate London SW1P 3AY Phone: +44 (0)207 222 8909 Fax: +44 (0)5601 527 476 [email protected] Centre for Social Cohesion: Press Release 25th June, 2008 Scottish Islamic Foundation to launch on Thursday: A new front for the Muslim Brotherhood? On Thursday 26 June 2008, a new Muslim group called the Scottish Islamic Foundation will be launched in Edinburgh in the presence of Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister. The leading members of the group, together with many of those who lead its events are closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist movement with regional branches which aims to re-create the global Caliphate. The Brotherhood's motto is: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." In 2007, Mehdi Akef, the leader of the Brotherhood in Egypt said that neither women nor Christians could become president of Egypt under an Islamic state, saying: "It is the Muslim Brotherhood's opinion that a woman cannot be president." He added: "How can a Christian president protect the religion of Islam?" In 2004, he said that "I have complete faith that Islam will invade Europe and America, because Islam has logic and a mission." In December 2005, Akef described the Holocaust as a "myth". Osama Saeed Osama Saeed is the chief executive of the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) and is the group's most high-profile member.
    [Show full text]
  • 120913-EUNA-Fall-201
    1 UN Alliance of Civilizations FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME Fall 2012 Edition European & North American Fellows This Fellowship is a Programme of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and is made possible by grants from the Federal Foreign office of Germany and the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation in partnership with the British Council, the League of Arab States, The Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Institute of International Education (IIE) 2 Ian B. Anderson (Canada) currently works as a national security policy analyst with the Government of Canada . In particular, his work focuses on cyber security , and he takes a personal interest in youth radicalization and online extremism . He is also responsible for Peace Geeks’ (peacegeeks.org) Remote Internship Program. Ian is an emerging leader in the fields of conflict resolution, policy-making, and the intersection of the Internet and international affairs. He completed a B.A. (Hons.) at Queen’s University in Political Studies, where he was a Chancellor’s Scholar . He received his master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Ottawa in 2009. While at the University of Ottawa, he served as an assistant to Dr. Peter Jones on a number of Track Two diplomatic dialogues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , U.S.-Iran bilateral issues , and India-Pakistan regional security . Ian was an International Development Management Fellow with the Aga Khan Foundation Canada in Kulob, Tajikistan, from 2009-2010. In this capacity, he managed local governance initiatives in the rural, mountainous areas of southern Tajikistan.
    [Show full text]
  • Answering for Islam: Journalistic and Islamic Conceptions of Authority Michael B
    Article Answering for Islam: Journalistic and Islamic Conceptions of Authority Michael B. Munnik Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK; [email protected] Received: 20 May 2019; Accepted: 7 July 2019; Published: 16 July 2019 Abstract: Media representations of Muslims in Britain have often disappointed both faith practitioners and scholars. Imputed failings include distorting beliefs or practices, essentialising the faith, and amplifying voices that are not representative of Islam. This last factor hinges on questions of authority: what journalists and Muslims recognise as authority can differ in important ways. Drawing on studies of journalism practice, prior professional experience, and ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews in Scotland, I discuss the conventional preference among journalists for “official sources” and the problems this can present in terms of hierarchy in Islam. I contrast this with a less-studied imperative, also present in newsrooms, for “real people”. This category matches well with Islam’s decentralised tradition and presents an opportunity to understand how different kinds of sources are presented in media coverage. It is possible for journalists to ensure that these differing claims to authority are represented properly, though this requires knowledge and responsibility. Keywords: Muslims in Britain; authority; journalism; journalist-source relations; representation; civic journalism; qualitative methods 1. Introduction Authority is characterised in part by its audience; therefore, authority is relational. Gudrun Krämer and Sabine Schmidtke examine authority in their edited volume Speaking for Islam , and they open with a pair of questions that indicate a shift in audience relevant for this article: Who speaks for Islam? Who explains to Muslims whether human rights are a legitimate concept ‘in Islam,’ whether there is such a thing as ‘Islamic values’ and what they consist of, and whether violence can ever be justified from a religious point of view? (Krämer and Schmidtke 2006, p.
    [Show full text]
  • A Tactical Handbook for Counterinsurgency and Police Operations
    DRAFT FMFM 1-3A A TACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR COUNTERINSURGENCY AND POLICE OPERATIONS IMPERIAL AND ROYAL AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN MARINE CORPS DRAFT FMFM 1-3A, Draft 1.0 12 August 2008 PREFACE Why another hip-pocket guide for counterinsurgency? What makes this different? This handbook is an offering from a group of Marine officers who feel that current doctrine is rapidly diverging from the intent of maneuver doctrine. Where other manuals aim to put current conflicts into the Maoist/Nationalist mold of the Twentieth century and aim to identify successful techniques, this book seeks to bring about a change in approach and thinking which is timeless. In an age where war is no longer monopolized by armies but is waged by non- governmental entities, ethnic groups, tribes, federal agencies and militias, we find it necessary to look to parallels and successful thought processes in the inter-agency arena. This we may apply to the current and future conflicts of a 4GW nature. Our hope is to compliment the FMFM-1A and provide a useful springboard of thoughts and practices. Monteccucoli, Hofkriegsrath Pola, July, 2008 2 FMFM 1-3A, Draft 1.0 12 August 2008 Chapter 1 THE GANGBANGER AND THE INSURGENT “For me the building block of policing in any democracy is that of an individual police officer acting as an individual, exercising his or her individual discretion. For almost 30 years because of the threat posed, not only to the society at large in Northern Ireland, but posed very specifically to my officers, we have been forced to operate from fortified buildings.
    [Show full text]
  • Azad Kashmir
    Azad Kashmir The home of British Kashmiris Waving flags of their countries of origin by some members of diaspora (overseas) communities in public space is one of the most common and visible expressions of their ‘other’ or ‘homeland’ identity or identities. In Britain, the South Asian diaspora communities are usually perceived as Indian, Pakistani, (since 1971) Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. However, there is another flag that is sometimes sighted on such public gatherings as Eid festivals, Pakistani/Indian Cricket Matches or political protests across Britain. 1 This is the official flag of the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. 'Azad Kashmir' is a part of the divided state of Jammu Kashmir. Its future is yet to be determined along with rest of the state. As explained below in detail, Azad Kashmir is administered by Pakistan but it is not part of Pakistan like Punjab, Sindh, Pakhtoon Khuwa and Baluchistan. However, as a result of the invasion of India and Pakistan to capture Kashmir in October 1947 and the subsequent involvement of United Nations, Pakistan is responsible for the development and service provision including passports for the people of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, another part of Kashmir that is not part of, but is controlled by, Pakistan. Under the same UN resolutions India is responsible for the Indian controlled part of Kashmir. In all parts of the divided Kashmir there are political movements of different intensity striving for greater rights and autonomy, self-rule and/or independence. The focus of this chapter, however, is primarily on Azad Kashmir, the home of nearly a million strong British Kashmiri community.
    [Show full text]
  • Data Protection and Research Ethics Challenges and Opportunities
    Researching Extremist Content on Social Media Platforms: Data Protection and Research Ethics Challenges and Opportunities Manjana Sold, Julian Junk GNET is a special project delivered by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London. The authors of this report are Manjana Sold and Julian Junk The Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) is an academic research initiative backed by the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an independent but industry‑funded initiative for better understanding, and counteracting, terrorist use of technology. GNET is convened and led by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), an academic research centre based within the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing those, either expressed or implied, of GIFCT, GNET or ICSR. CONTACT DETAILS For questions, queries and additional copies of this report, please contact: ICSR King’s College London Strand London WC2R 2LS United Kingdom T. +44 20 7848 2098 E. [email protected] Twitter: @GNET_research Like all other GNET publications, this report can be downloaded free of charge from the GNET website at www.gnet‑research.org. © GNET Researching Extremist Content on Social Media Platforms: Data Protection and Research Ethics Challenges and Opportunities Executive Summary he nexus between terrorism and technology is socially and politically more relevant than ever. Almost every mobilisation and Tradicalisation process and every violent attack, whether carried out or prevented, has an online component to it. Researchers, not least those involved in GNET, are meeting head on the challenge of analysing these processes in difficult empirical online environments.
    [Show full text]
  • Terrorism Acts Uk
    TERRORISM ACTS UK https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_Great_Britain List of terrorist incidents in Great Britain The following is a list of terrorist incidents in Great Britain, including incidents where people were arrested under the terrorist laws and later released without charge, but excluding events in Northern Ireland – a part of the United Kingdom. Contents • Attacks involving violence or serious threat to life • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010–present • Prevented, failed or aborted attacks • Arrests, detentions, and other incidents related to the Terrorism Acts • See also • References Attacks involving violence or serious threat to life 1970s § 1971, 12 January: Two bombs exploded at the house of government minister Robert Carr. This attack was one of 25 carried out by the Angry Brigade between August 1970 and August 1971. The Bomb Squad was established at Scotland Yard in January 1971 to target the group, and they were apprehended in August of that year.[1][2] § 1971, 31 October: A bomb exploded in the Post Office Tower in London causing extensive damage but no injuries. The "Kilburn Battalion" of the IRA claimed responsibility for the explosion.[3] § 1972, 22 February: The Official Irish Republican Army killed seven civilians in the Aldershot bombing. § 1972, 19 September: The group Black September posted a letter bomb to the Israeli embassy in London killing an Israeli diplomat.[4] § 1973: The Provisional IRA exploded a car bomb in the street outside the Old Bailey. A shard of glass is preserved as a reminder, embedded in the wall at the top of the main stairs. § 1973, 10 September: The Provisional IRA set off bombs at London's King's Cross Station and Euston Station injuring 21 people.[5] § 1974, 4 February: Eight soldiers and 4 civilians killed by the Provisional IRA in the M62 coach bombing.
    [Show full text]