Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that Britain was facing a new and dangerous form of extremism, warning that loners and misfits were being radicalized by a “tsunami of violence that is freely available online”. .
Mr Starmer said in his Downing Street speech that unlike the threat of terrorism from organized groups such as al-Qaeda, where there is a clear ideology, some young people have become obsessed with extreme violence for its own sake. He said there was. He compared the brutal murder of three girls at a dance class in Southport, England last July to some of the school shootings in the United States.
On Monday, Axel Rudakvana, 18, admitted killing three girls and attempting to kill 10 others in the coastal town of Southport. Last summer's attacks sparked riots in several towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy of Merseyside Police, which covers Southport, said in a statement on Monday that Mr Rudakubana had an “unhealthy obsession with extreme violence”. The violence, conflict and genocide he saw on his digital devices.
“We know that he had researched numerous documents online that showed his obsession,” she said, adding, “All those documents did not reveal any ideology. . That's why it wasn't treated as terrorism,” he added.
On Monday, the government announced that the perpetrator had been referred three times to an anti-terrorism program called Prevent when he was 13 and 14 years old because of his interest in extreme violence. announced the investigation. He was deemed unsuitable for intervention as he was deemed not to be motivated by terrorist ideology.
Mr Starmer said the judgment was “clearly wrong” and that no institution of state should be allowed to “deviate from failure”, adding: “This case quite frankly jumps off the page.” .
He denied claims by right-wing British media that there was a cover-up of the murder, saying he had been briefed on the ongoing police investigation, but said it was against the law to disclose information about criminals in advance. He said it was forbidden. Trial. To ensure the right to a fair trial, the UK has strict rules for disclosure of information during court proceedings.
“If this trial had collapsed because I or someone else had revealed important details while the case was being prepared and the police were investigating, If we had waited for sentencing, the despicable men who committed these crimes would have walked away free,” Starmer said.
In the days after the July 29 attack, right-wing critics suggested that information about the perpetrators was being suppressed to dampen public anger. Riots erupted after false information about the identity of the killer spread rapidly. These included false claims that he was an illegal immigrant who had recently arrived from Syria. Mr Rudakbana was born in Wales.
Police said in October that a search of Rudakbana's home found the deadly toxin ricin and a PDF file titled “Military Research in the Jihad Against Tyranny: Al-Qaeda Training Manual.” But investigators said in a statement Monday that the killer's interest in violence was widespread and did not appear to stem from a single ideology.
Mr Starmer said the Southport attack was a “sign” that terrorism was evolving and that the UK was facing new threats, with more organized groups such as al-Qaeda-linked or al-Qaeda-inspired groups. ”
Mr Starmer said: “We are also seeing extreme acts of violence carried out in the bedroom by loners, sociopaths and young people seeking notoriety who access all kinds of material online.” He added that they are sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist organizations. , they were “obsessed with that extreme violence as if it were an end in itself.”
Mr Starmer said the UK's counter-terrorism laws may need to be changed to recognize and deal with new threats, as these acts are aimed at terrorism.
“I think it's new. We've seen some version of school shootings in America,” he said. “This is not an isolated and frightening example. In my view, this is an example of a different kind of threat.”
Speaking in Parliament, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Mr Rudakubana admitted possessing a knife 10 times, had a history of violence and could easily order one on Amazon despite being only 17. said. .
“This is absolutely disgraceful and must change,” she said, adding that the government would “introduce stronger measures against online knife sales”.
Mr Cooper also told MPs that the government would contact technology companies to ask them to remove the dangerous content that Mr Rudakubana viewed, adding that companies “are making profits by hosting content that puts children's lives at risk”. “You shouldn't get it,” he added.
Mr Starmer earlier claimed the Southport murder tragedy “must be a red line for Britain”. He said it would tackle issues that are “wide-ranging, uninfluenced by cultural or institutional sensitivities, and driven solely by the pursuit of justice.”
Chris Phillip, speaking on behalf of the opposition Conservative Party on Home Affairs, welcomed the establishment of a public inquiry, but said he wanted to ensure that authorities were “as open and transparent as possible to the public about what the government knew” and “when the government knew”. He said that an investigation should be conducted to determine whether he had any. ”, and whether the lack of transparency contributed to the riot.
