Case Studies

Hateful extremism report

by Mark Rowe

The internet is magnifying hate crime and extremism. It is now critical for the UK Government to devise a new legal and operational framework to counter hateful extremism, for online and offline. We are at a watershed moment and action is required urgently, says the author of a legal review for the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE).

CCE Lead Commissioner Sara Khan commissioned the newly-retired Met Police Assistant Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to make the review last summer. In a foreword, Sir Mark describes extremism as ‘like the hidden portion of the iceberg under the water’. He writes: “Extremism, the spread of hateful ideologies that legitimise violence, was creating an ever-bigger pool for terrorists to recruit from, as well as increasing hate crime and tensions between communities.” While extremism isn’t new, he points to ‘the magnifying effect of social media’. Nothing of real weight counters extremism, he warns.

The report points to ‘unregulated fringe online platforms’ and ‘sophisticated tactics that target young people’ – dangerous and harmful, the report argues, but in the gap between laws already against hate crime and terrorism. Far Right extremist actors and organisations have professionalised and grown; and there’s ‘an increasing shift towards recruitment and active dissemination of extremist content’ online. The report points also to Islamism; and the ‘incel’ male online sub-culture.

Sara Khan says: “Since the 2005 London bombings, one of the long-standing conundrums for the British Government has been how to deal with extremist groups or individuals who are not caught by counter-terrorism legislation, but who are creating a climate that is conducive to terrorism and other societal harms. Previous attempts – such as the 2015 Extremism Bill – were unfocused and rightly criticised because of an inability to ensure the protection of freedom of expression and other civil liberties.

“Our report shows how it is possible to square this circle. We have charted a path the government can take which will ensure protection of freedom of expression while restricting the dangerous activity of hateful extremism. Extremist groups whether neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, Islamist or others are able to operate lawfully, freely and with impunity. They are actively radicalising others and are openly propagating for the erosion of our fundamental democratic rights. Their aim is to subvert our democracy. This is a threat to our civilised democratic order, which cannot be taken for granted and requires a robust, necessary and proportionate legal response.

“That is why we are calling on the government to commit to devising a new legal and operational framework to capture the specific activity of hateful extremism. Without such a framework this activity will continue unchallenged and the many harms it is causing in our country will continue to persist and worsen in the next decade.”

You can view the report, ‘Operating with impunity’, at gov.uk.

Sir Mark Rowley says: “As the national lead for Counter-Terrorism Policing I have witnessed many awful acts of terrorism and violence. However, during the course of conducting this review, I have been shocked and horrified by the ghastliness and volume of hateful extremist materials and behaviour which is lawful in Britain.

“Not only have our laws failed to keep pace with the evolving threat of modern-day extremism, current legal boundaries allow extremists to operate with impunity. They are carefully steering around existing laws in the ways we describe in our report, openly glorifying terrorism, collecting and sharing some of the most violent extremist propaganda, or intentionally stirring up racial or religious hatred against others. Hateful extremism is creating an ever-bigger pool for terrorists to recruit from, as well as increasing violence, hate crime and tensions between and within communities.

“Over the decades, Britain has built a robust legal and operational counter terrorism machinery which has continually evolved in response to the changing terrorist threat. The same is certainly not the case for hateful extremism. The current situation is simply untenable.”

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