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7 Jan, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Exclusive: Extremism has become so widespread online that it “cannot be policed”, the head of UK counter-terror policing has said

Neil Basu warned that a low legal threshold could leave police “overwhelmed” by cases

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Campaigners have called for more action against hateful material, but concerns have sparked an inquiry on freedom of expression

The government is recommendations to create a legal definition of extremism, which could criminalise material that currently falls short of the law
Mr Basu told me online radicalisation was his biggest concern, especially during Covid, but added: “When you look at the volume of material which is horrific, shouldn’t be allowed online and is really distressing for a lot of people, the volume is so high it cannot be policed."
“It would have to be prevented and that is the most important thing," he added

Mr Basu said the Online Harms Bill, which proposes internet regulation that would force companies to remove material or face multi-million pound fines, was “fundamental” to combating the issue

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More from @lizziedearden

Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
8 Jan
Horrific accounts of the targeting of journalists in the Capitol are emerging

The "who do you work for" demand will be chillingly familiar to journalists who have covered far-right protests in the UK, where attacks on photographers and camera crews have recieved little coverage
Print journalists like myself can do our best to blend in, but photographers and camera operators are frequently targeted

On the day far-right activist James Goddard confronted me at Westminster Magistrates' Court - for which he was convicted...

independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/…
... female camera operator from Press Association was surrounded and intimidated by far-right “yellow vests” who called her a “Nazi” and “scumbag” outside the court

Signs targeting the "scum media" and "MSM" are common at far-right and conspiracy theorist protests in Britain
Read 8 tweets
Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
6 Jan
An emerging dominant narrative among Trump supporters who disapprove of the scenes at the Capitol is of "antifa agitators"

People are using the fact this man is there and was also pictured at a BLM rally is being used as 'proof' - but the viral version had the Q sign cropped out
It's impossible to tell where the theory originated, and it most likely happened organically extremely quickly among groups already prone to "antifa" conspiracy theories

But several high profile figures fanned the flames, such as Candace Owens

A cursory search for 'antifa' on Twitter and other social media sites shows how widespread the theory has become

The scramble to identify "actors" and "infiltrators" is commonly seen among all kinds of groups trying to defend themselves from a negative reaction ImageImageImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
6 Jan
The Reading attacker described himself as a “bit Muslim and Catholic” to police after converting to Christianity, a court has heard

Khairi Saadallah had repeatedly shouted “Allahu akbar” as he murdered three victims and spoke afterwards of jihad

independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/…
Prosecutors allege that the Reading attack was motivated by “extremist Islamic ideology”, and are calling for a judge to impose a rare whole-life prison term

Saadallah has admitted charges of murder and attempted murder but denies committing an act of terrorism
The Old Bailey heard that he had converted to Christianity more than a year before the attack,previously worshipped at a church and had a cross tattooed on his leg

He once told a probation officer the Bible was “keeping the devil out of my head and keeping the angels in my head”
Read 7 tweets
Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
5 Jan
The Reading attacker fought for a terrorist group in Libya and then lied in an asylum application, a court has heard

Khairi Saadallah, who also committed numerous violent and criminal offences in the UK, was refused asylum but could not be deported

independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/…
While serving a prison sentence, he was notified that the home secretary had determined that his deportation would be for the “public good” on 4 June, but steps could not be taken at that time because of the Libyan civil war

Saadallah was released from jail the following day
He carried out the attack little over two weeks later, after doing hostile reconnaissance of Forbury Gardens and making preparations

Saadallah admits murder but denies terrorism. Prosecutors say it was a terror attack, detailing evidence of Islamist ideology dating back to 2011
Read 6 tweets
Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
30 Sep 20
We need a dose of reality in the debate about English Channel crossings

It's absurd that wave machines or volcanic islands would even be articulated as ideas, let alone the fact that ASYLUM APPLICATIONS HAVE FALLEN

Yes, there are fewer asylum seekers coming to the UK
Some useful figures from evidence to the Home Affairs Committee here

The number of asylum seekers arriving via small boats rose from 465 to 2,012 in the first 2 quarters of the year, but the number arriving by other routes dropped from 8,455 to 4,850

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Boat crossings have happened in small numbers for a long time, and were the source of the 2015 onwards Mediterannean refugee crisis

Their rise in the Channel was predicted last year by a parliamentary committee that Priti Patel sat on at the time

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Read 5 tweets
Lizzie Dearden Profile picture
29 Sep 20
As MPs prepare to vote on extending the Coronavirus Act, official figures show the law has been wrongly used to prosecute 141 people

It has been used unlawfully in every single case so far, and more are going through the courts

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Several human rights groups are campaigning for schedule 21 of the act, which creates criminal offences, to be repealed

It gives police the power to direct “potentially infectious persons” to a place suitable for screening and assessment, and makes it an offence to refuse
The Coronavirus Act was drawn up in March, when the threat was mainly perceived to come from abroad, and places where infectious people can be detained were never set up

The Health Protection Regulations were later introduced under a separate law to enforce lockdown restrictions
Read 4 tweets

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