Isolation and fear are being used by the radical right to connect and indoctrinate people by spreading racist narratives about the virus. In the last four months, Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across every populated continent and infected more than two million people, with estimates of many more to come. More than just a tragic outbreak… Continue reading “The radical right is weaponising COVID-19 online”
In January 2020, there was a flash of social media outrage around a piece on immigration and its impact by the BBC News. Though there were general concerns about the red colouring used on the map to show immigration numbers in different parts of the UK due to it potentially presenting a sense of threat… Continue reading “Swamping and the Migration Debate: The Sound of Silence?”
Sudesh Amman was released from prison before his attack in early February, raising questions of whether prison was an incubator for his radicalization. The horrific terror attack that took place last month, has again shone a light on our prison system and the radicalization process. Sudesh Amman, the man responsible for the attack in Streatham,… Continue reading “Did The Streatham Terrorist Get Further Radicalized In Prison?”
The contemporary political landscape is characterized by extreme polarization, and that’s not only in Britain or the US. The outcome of the election in the United Kingdom is just one more piece of evidence of a pernicious trend that has increasingly infested liberal democracies — extreme polarization. While it will take some time to get… Continue reading “The Extremes Win Today’s Elections”
As a Special Branch officer I watched the anti-Islam protest movement, the English Defence League (EDL), develop in 2009, I was struck by their apparent strategic acumen, not something normally associated with the far-right or football-related gang. The traditional Special Branch role of providing chief officers with intelligence on public order had slipped down the… Continue reading “Guest Blog: The catalyst for the EDL: March 2009 Luton – a terrible mistake”
It may be that, unlike what Europe saw in the 1930s, resistance to a long drift to the right is swelling. In a remarkable confluence of events, the right-wing national leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel find themselves, at least for a brief historical moment, besieged by criticism and stark political… Continue reading “New Cracks in the Global Far Right?”
Throughout world history, women have not only been targets of the radical right, they have also been one of the leading forces combatting them. In July of 2019, Donald Trump launched an attack on four female congresswomen who have consistently challenged his use of rhetoric that has time and time again risked inflaming racial tensions… Continue reading “Women’s History Of Combatting The Radical Right”
Introduction It was recently announced that Lord Carlile of Berriew would be leading the independent review of the U.K.’s Prevent Strategy, which is expected to start within the next month. I’ve been asked recently what I’d want to see in this review and have covered these points on my YouTube Channel. However, I wanted to… Continue reading “What I’d like to see in the upcoming independent review of the Prevent Strategy”
The extreme right in Britain has changed and developed in recent times, while its impact can be felt across a wide variety of professions. From policing to teaching, and from healthcare to law, many professionals can find themselves dealing with people with extreme right activists, or whose lives have been affected by the consequences of… Continue reading “Extreme Right Aware Training Course, 20 September 2019”
Mosques and Islamic centres across the UK have recently seen an increase in hate crimes, leading to increased security concerns. Did you know that hate crimes can impact places of worship? A hate crime can be any criminal or non-criminal act such as graffiti, vandalism to property, name-calling, assault, or online abuse using social media.… Continue reading “Shades of Islamophobic hate”