Security services turn focus on UK's far right

Published on Monday 25 July 2011 19:06

THE threat posed by far-right extremists has become the focus of UK and Scottish ministers, security experts and counter- terror police chiefs after the mass slaughter of 76 people in Norway.

In his chilling manifesto, British-born Anders Behring Breivik, who has been charged with terrorism offences, spoke of connections in the UK and pinpointed North Sea oil rigs and BP's office in Dyce, Aberdeen, as potential targets.

He has told police he has two terrorist cells working with him and claims to have connections all over Europe.

The claims have led to a number of high-level meetings to discuss the lessons the UK can learn.

After a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) in London, Prime Minister David Cameron said security services would "take stock of the UK's ability to respond to threats".

UK ministers are in talks with their Scottish counterparts and Assistant Chief Constable Colin McCashey, Scotland's counter-terrorism chief, has urged Scots to be vigilant.

Searchlight, which campaigns against racism and fascism, has called on the UK government to take the threat from the far right as seriously as it does the danger posed by Muslim extremists.

Mr Cameron chaired the NSC meeting looking into the implications of the Norway atrocity, hours before Breivik was due to appear in court in a closed hearing.

Breivik had hoped to use his appearance to explain his motivations to a worldwide audience.

He has reportedly claimed he was recruited by two English right-wing extremists at a meeting in the UK in 2002 attended by seven other people.

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At yesterday's NSC meeting, it was agreed the police should review their activities to make sure that "nothing further can be done to protect the safety of people in the UK".

Number 10 said it was time to "take stock" and "see what lessons can be learned".

Detectives investigating the killing spree are thought to be exploring Breivik's possible links to the British far right, including members of the English Defence League (EDL).

The 32-year-old was charged with terrorism following the blast in central Oslo which killed eight, and gun attack at a youth camp on the island of Utya on Friday in which a further 68 people died.

Scotland Yard said detectives were liaising with the Norwegian authorities and an officer had gone to the country to help with the inquiry.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said all relevant agencies and departments would look at what they could do in light of the tragedy.

He added: "The National Security Council met. They discussed the tragic events in Norway last week and took stock of the UK's ability to respond to threats from terrorism and extremism."

He said the meeting "agreed that the UK is well-prepared to deal with such threats" but added "the police and the security services should look at planning" to ensure everything possible was being done to protect the public.

"After an incident of this kind it is right to look at what we are doing and make sure, if there are any lessons we need to learn from it, then we can learn those lessons," he added.Mr Cameron denied that Britain had been "complacent" about the threat of right-wing extremism, pointing out that it was mentioned in the government's official terrorism strategy, and in a speech he made on the issue in Munich in February.

He said that the NSC had agreed not only that Britain would do "everything it can" to assist Norway, but also that the UK would learn the lessons from the tragedy on how to prevent arms, ammunition and the kinds of fertiliser that can be used to make bombs falling into the wrong hands.

The NSC also agreed that everything possible must be done to identify extremist groups, so action can be taken to keep the public safe from fanaticism and violence.

Counter-terrorism is reserved to Westminster and Scotland's terror threat alert level is tied to the UK's. Both were recently downgraded from "severe" to "substantial". However, Scottish police have their own counter terrorism operations and local information is seen as vital to averting an attack.

The Scottish Government confirmed it was liaising with Westminster on intelligence that has come out of the Norwegian atrocity.

"Scottish authorities, including the Scottish Government and the police, work very closely with other UK agencies on counter-terrorism and we will look to engage constructively in any UK-wide review into these matters," a spokesman said.

"The Scottish Government will continue to work with other jurisdictions, across the UK and beyond, to ensure the safety and security of the people of Scotland, but we cannot comment on individual operations or speculate on any potential targets."

They have been urged to keep a tight watch on the actions and words of the EDL, an extreme- right movement south of the Border which has demonstrated - often violently - against the spread of Islamism.

The EDL has tried to launch the SDL in Scotland, but demonstrations north of the Border have been poorly attended and low key.

Matthew Collins, author of the book Hate, My life in the British Far Right, and a journalist for Searchlight magazine, said: "The longer investigations go on the closer we are to unravelling how closely he was linked to, at least the ideals, of the English Defence League.

"For two years we've been calling on the Home Office and Home Secretary to take the threat from the far right seriously and to treat it as seriously as they do the threat from Muslim extremists.You could go on the EDL's own Facebook page and see how they call for bombings. It's time we take our own terrorists seriously."The EDL has denied any link with Breivik. "We can categorically state that there has never been any official contact between him and the EDL," it said.