I. There is no process in place to monitor those 'G***' individuals who have travelled overseas for Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism-related purposes and have returned to the UK—there is a strong possibility that these returning foreign fighters, some of whom may have fought ***, will have been further radicalised *** and developed connections with others who share their Extreme Right-Wing ideology.
J. The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a popular activity enjoyed by many people across the UK. The fact that this is an area currently being targeted by the Far Right in other countries, and that a number of MMA instructors were previously found to have been involved in National Action, suggests that MI5 and Counter Terrorism Policing should be alert to the potential for links in the future.
K. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism online environment poses a new challenge for the Intelligence Community, and there is still a long way to go when it comes to tackling what is largely an ungoverned space. The Head of Counter Terrorism Policing told the Committee that "the single biggest thing that keeps me awake at night is the proliferation of online and its ability to radicalise and incite people". The Director General of MI5 pointed to the particular challenge of determining Extreme Right-Wing activity online which could translate into 'real-world' terrorist activity:
the activity itself is often just online espousal of violent views without any real world accompanying activity and so often we are monitoring something which is just online and nothing else, potentially for years on end, but it doesn't take much for an individual or a small group of individuals to change their direction and do something violent in the real world.
L. The Operational Improvement Review and its practical recommendations signalled a fundamental shift in the Government's approach to what was then termed 'Domestic Extremism'—the subsequent transfer of lead responsibility from Counter Terrorism Policing to MI5 regarding what was by then recognised as a terrorist threat was a pragmatic and logical move.
M. The continuing rise in the number of referrals to Prevent for concerns around Extreme Right-Wing activity does not necessarily signal a similar increase in the Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism threat, but rather indicates a greater awareness of the potential risk and the greater focus being placed on this issue. We consider that the Home Affairs Committee may wish to examine how and why people are being referred to Prevent—and who is making these referrals.
N. Advocacy groups can play an important role, however we recognise that MI5 and Counter Terrorism Policing may be constrained in the way in which they are able to interact with them at an operational level, and we would encourage the Home Office to develop constructive relationships at a strategic level instead.
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