Starmer says UK may change terrorism law after Southport attack

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that Britain is facing a new and dangerous form of extremism, warning that isolated people and misfits are turning to extremism due to a “tidal wave of violence freely available on the Internet.”

In a Speech at Downing StreetMr Starmer said that unlike the terrorist threat posed by organized groups such as Al Qaeda, where a clear ideology can be identified, some young people have become fixated on extremist violence itself. He compared the brutal murder of three girls in a dance class last July in Southport, England, to some of the school shootings that America has witnessed.

On Monday, Axel Rodacobana, 18, He confessed to killing three girls In the coastal town of Southport and attempted to kill 10 other people. Attack last summer It sparked riots in several towns and cities Throughout England and Northern Ireland.

Serena Kennedy, head of Merseyside Police, the force covering Southport, said In a statement on Monday that Mr Rudakupana had “ An unhealthy obsession with extreme violence“, as evidenced by the collection of documents, photos, videos and texts about violence, conflict and genocide that he viewed on his digital devices.

“We know that he searched through numerous documents online that show this obsession,” she said, adding: “Of all those documents, not a single ideology was revealed, which is why this was not treated as terrorism.”

On Monday, the government announced a public investigation after it emerged that the perpetrator had been referred three times to an anti-terrorism program called Prevent, when he was 13 and 14 years old, due to his interest in extreme violence. Because he was not motivated by terrorist ideology, he was not considered suitable for intervention.

Mr Starmer said this judgment was “plainly wrong”, and that he would not allow any institution in the country to “turn away from its failure”, which “in this case, frankly, jumps off the page”.

He rejected claims by the right-wing media in Britain that there was a cover-up of the murders, saying that he was informed of the police investigations while they were being conducted, but the law prevented him from revealing information about the perpetrator of the crime in advance of any possible possibility. trial. Strict rules govern the release of information during active court proceedings in Britain in order to ensure the right to a fair trial.

“If this trial collapses because I or someone else revealed important details while the police were investigating while preparing the case, while… Mr Starmer said: “As we awaited sentencing, the vile person who committed these crimes would have been left a free man.”

In the days following the July 29 attack, right-wing critics suggested that information about the perpetrator was withheld to contain public anger. The riots exploded after the rapid spread of misinformation about the identity of the killer, including false claims that he was an illegal immigrant who had recently arrived from Syria. Mr Rudakupana was born in Wales.

Police announced in October that, after searching Mr. Rudakubana’s home, they found ricin, a deadly poison, and a PDF file titled “Military Studies in Jihad Against Tyrants: Al-Qaeda Training Manual.” But investigators made clear in statements Monday that the killer’s interest in violence was broad-based and did not appear to stem from any single ideology.

Starmer said the Southport attack was “a sign that terrorism is evolving and that Britain faces a new threat alongside more organized groups such as those linked to or inspired by Al Qaeda.”

“We are also seeing extreme acts of violence committed by loners, misfits and young people in their bedrooms, accessing all sorts of material online, in a desperate attempt to gain notoriety,” Mr Starmer said, adding that although these people draw inspiration from… Sometimes conventional terrorist groups have been “focused on this extreme violence, it seems, for its own sake.”

Starmer said that since such actions were aimed at terrorism, Britain’s counter-terrorism laws may need to change in order to recognize and tackle the new threat.

“I think it’s new — I’ve seen versions of it in America with some of the mass school shootings,” he said. “It’s not an isolated, horrific example. It’s, in my opinion, an example of a different kind of threat.”

Speaking in Parliament, Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said Mr Rudakupana admitted carrying a knife 10 times, and that despite his record of violence and being only 17, he was easily able to order a knife from Amazon. .

“This is a complete disgrace and it must change,” she said, adding that the government “will take stronger action to tackle online knife sales.”

Ms Cooper also told lawmakers that the government would contact technology companies to ask them to remove dangerous material seen by Mr Rudakupana, adding that companies “should not profit from hosting content that puts children’s lives at risk”.

Earlier, Mr Starmer said the tragedy of the Southport killings “should be a line in the sand for Britain”. He said it would address issues that were “far-reaching, unencumbered by cultural or institutional sensitivities, and driven only by the pursuit of justice.”

Chris Phillip, the opposition Conservative Party’s home affairs spokesman, I welcomed the institution But she said she should investigate “what the government knew and when,” whether authorities were “as open and transparent with the public as possible,” and whether any lack of transparency contributed to the riots.