Don’t extend terrorist label, says former counter-terrorism chief Neel Basu

A former counter-terrorism chief has warned there would be “unintended consequences” if terrorism laws were expanded to include attacks like that of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.

Former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said that broadening the definition of terrorist would be a mistake, as some violent individuals would “enjoy” it.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a review of existing laws to address the “extreme violence perpetrated by lonely, inappropriate, young men in their bedrooms”. Three young girls murdered in a dance class in Southport last July,

Mr Basu warned that this could divert resources and attention from tackling current terrorist threats.

Speaking in Downing Street on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the country had to rethink the way it protects people because “terrorism has changed” and there is a “new and dangerous threat” from extreme violence.

The government has announced a public inquiry into the Southport attack. Sir Keir said the state’s failings were “off the page”, and “our entire counter-extremism system” would be reviewed.

Rudacubana was referred to the anti-extremism program Prevent three times before he murdered six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguirre.

Mr. Basu Told on BBC Radio 4’s Today program It would be wrong to expand the definition of terrorism to include people like Rudakubana.

He described the Southport attack as one of the most “horrific” ever and said it had been a “hellish week” for Southport families, but added: “Bad legislation is hastily made in response to shocking incidents .

“We need to think very carefully about unintended consequences. My opinion is that this would be a mistake.”

Mr Basu suggested that the people the Prime Minister was referring to were not terrorists but “violent individuals” who “used any ideology as an excuse for their violent actions”.

He argued that some of them had “psychopathic or sociopathic ideas” and would like the idea of ​​being designated a terrorist.

The increased workload on counter-terrorism teams “will also lead to a huge bill”, he said.

He said threats from so-called Islamic State militants and far-right extremists are growing, so broadening the terrorist definition would also divert attention from dealing with organized groups.

However, Lord (Alex) Carlyle was the first independent reviewer of UK terrorism legislation from 2001 to 2011. agree with sir keir It is now “high time” to review the definition of terrorism in law to include lone attackers without a clear motive.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs on Tuesday that many agencies had failed to recognize the dire threat posed by Rudakubana.

The public inquiry “will also consider the wider challenge of rising youth violence and extremism”, he said.

He told the Commons that 162 people were referred to Prevent last year over concerns about potential school massacres.

Mr Basu welcomed the public inquiry, but predicted its final report would tell a familiar story.

He speculated that this would lead to conclusions that counter-extremism agencies did not share enough intelligence, and were underfunded, undertrained and “overwhelmed by demand”.