The Government will bring in a ‘Protect Duty’ requiring venues to take responsibility for security against terror attacks, the Home Office Security Minister James Brokenshire said in a first speech on his return to the post, to the defence and national security think-tank RUSI.
He said: “This will require certain owners and operators of premise to consider their preparedness for, and protection from, a terrorist attack and apply certain minimum standards. This government supports the Martyn’s Law campaign that seeks to improve protective security arrangements at publicly accessible locations. Covid has regrettably meant that progress has been slower than any of us had hoped or anticipated.
“It has made consultation with industry and other partners more challenging and changed the nature of the locations the duty was intended to be focussed on. But I want to be clear that our determination to deliver remains undiminished and we will follow through in bringing the Protect Duty into effect.
“It also reminds us that the task of combatting terrorism extends beyond government, law enforcement and our security services. It must also include the private and wider public sector.
“In fact, everyone has a role to play in tackling terrorism.
“In the evolving threat landscape which I have highlighted, one of the most fundamental shifts we have seen in recent years has been the prominence of what is often referred to as the ‘lone actor’ threat.
“Not so long ago, we were mostly occupied with the risk posed by individuals or groups who were trained by terrorist organisations, provided with funds or weapons, and directed to carry out specific attacks. Now, the primary threat is posed by those who mobilise to violence independently. Technological changes, permissive online spaces and low sophistication attack methods have lowered the bar to entry into terrorism.”
He acknowledged that ‘investigations by the police and security services are central to the counter-terrorism effort’. He went on: “But a friend, a relative or a colleague will often be best placed to spot some of these warning signs and vulnerabilities at an early stage. We also expect social media companies to play a role in identifying and flagging both illegal glorification content and the potential terrorist grooming of vulnerable individuals.”
The Home Office official Shaun Hipgrave has since outlined the proposed duty to International Security Week, the online conference in place of the two-day exhibition at London Olympia.
On the – as announced last month in the Treasury Spending Review 2020 – Counter-Terrorism Operations Centre, Brokenshire, pictured, said that it ‘will be truly collaborative, and will unite partners from Counter-Terrorism Policing, the intelligence agencies, and the criminal justice system, coordinating their expertise, resource, and intelligence’.
Brokenshire took the post in February, and is in charge of counter-terrorism policy, agencies including MI5 and the National Crime Agency, and the national security and countering serious and organised crime. In an earlier Home Office stint he oversaw the security operation for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The centre will be fully delivered and operational within five years, with the first parts of the building complete and operational as early 2021, he said. For the full speech, click here. RUSI members can view a video of the speech.
