ISC says MI5 needs more funding to tackle right wing terrorism

The Intelligence and Security Committee has called for additional funding to help MI5 tackle the rise in right wing terrorism.

The Committee published its latest report, which found that the number of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism (ERWT) investigations, disruptions, and Self-Initiated Terrorist referrals have all increased steadily since 2017.

The report also notes that 30 per cent of the attacks prevented by Counter Terror Police were motivated by an ERWT ideology.

Of particular concern, the report noted that Individuals with an ERWT ideology often seek to join the military, and that military experience is a source of legitimacy among ERWT groups. However, the report noted that the Armed Forces do not provide clear direction to Service personnel regarding membership of any organisation, let alone an extremist one.

The Chairman of the ISC, Dr Julian Lewis MP, said:

"MI5 assumed responsibility for tackling Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism in 2020, and it is now assessed alongside the Islamist terror threat, and forms part of the overall UK Threat Level assessment. We considered it important to review how the transition in responsibility from Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) to MI5 has worked, and what MI5 is now doing to tackle this increasingly complex threat.

"The threat from Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism is on an upward trajectory, populated by an increasing number of young people and driven by the internet. There are reports that groups and individuals have sought to co-opt the Covid-19 pandemic, using conspiracy theories and exploiting grievances to radicalise and recruit. While the full impact of the global pandemic has yet to be seen, we are assured that the Intelligence Community and the police have recognised the impact that events such as the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests may have had on the extremist beliefs of individuals and the possibility that this will lead to an increase in the threat.

"However we were seriously concerned to find that MI5 have had to absorb responsibility for tackling Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism without any commensurate resources. They cannot be expected simply to absorb this new responsibility. MI5 must be given additional funding to enable it to tackle Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism without other areas of their work suffering as a consequence.”