Latest news with #Walney
Telegraph
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Kneecap referred to counter-terror police for saying ‘kill your MP'
Kneecap, the Irish Republican rap group, has been referred to counter-terror police for a second time accused of telling their fans 'kill your local MP'. The controversial trio from Belfast was already under investigation after footage emerged from a 2024 gig during which one band member appeared to shout 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah'. On Saturday night, the Metropolitan Police confirmed a second video, dating from a concert in London in 2023, is also being investigated to see whether it breaks UK terrorism laws. The footage allegedly showed a member of the band saying: 'We're still under British occupation in Ireland. We still have old men in London making decisions that affect my life in Ireland. 'And even worse, they're f-----g Tories. The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.' A Met spokesman said: 'We were made aware of a video on April 22, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required. 'We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023.' The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit is a national unit based within the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, has said she is planning to crack down on a music grants scheme that gave £14,250 in taxpayer cash to Kneecap last year. The previous Tory government attempted to block the payment, which prompted Kneecap to launch a legal challenge that was not contested by Labour when it took power. Condemned across political spectrum The alleged 'kill your local MP' remarks, first unearthed by the Daily Mail, were condemned across the political spectrum on Saturday. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: 'We condemn these appalling comments in the strongest possible terms. It is right that this incident is now being investigated by the relevant authorities. 'As the Secretary of State said earlier this week, the Music Export Growth Scheme that we inherited from the previous government will now be subject to a comprehensive review.' Lord Walney, the government's former extremism adviser, said: 'These shocking comments are beyond irresponsible – they are criminal incitement that risk putting MPs in credible danger for their lives. 'Two MPs have been murdered for ideological reasons in recent years and we have just come through the most threatening election campaign in living memory. This is very serious and it is a test case for the police.' 'Incitement to murder' Steve Baker, a former Northern Ireland secretary, said the comments 'appear to be incitement to murder'. 'Peace in Northern Ireland was secured at great cost and compromise. It is a peace to be treasured,' he said. 'I am all too aware dissident Republicans do not accept that peace but I would expect mainstream Nationalists and Republicans to join me in stridently condemning such reckless words.' Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Buckingham, added: 'In the aftermath of two murdered MPs in recent years, it is sickening and appalling that this has been said at a gig – an incitement to violence and murder. Unacceptable.' Jo Cox, a Labour MP, was shot and stabbed to death on June 16 2016 by Thomas Mair, a far-Right extremist. Sir David Amess, a Tory MP, was killed at a constituency surgery in Southend on October 15 2021 by Ali Harbi Ali, an Islamist extremist. In a statement on social media on Friday night, Kneecap said it had faced 'a coordinated smear campaign' after displaying pro-Palestine and anti-Israel messages at the Coachella music festival. 'The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods,' the group said. 'We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts. The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple – we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing.' Kneecap went on to claim its critics 'weaponise false accusations of anti-Semitism' and accused Israel of 'genocide', claiming many Jews were 'outraged… just as we are'.
Al Etihad
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Etihad
TRENDS hosts counter-extremism seminar in UK House of Lords
14 Mar 2025 15:31 LONDON (ALETIHAD)A scientific seminar organised by TRENDS Research & Advisory at the UK House of Lords emphasised the need to combat extremism as a fundamental step in ensuring security and stability locally and discussion highlighted the importance of correcting extremist ideologies and providing educational, economic, and social alternatives to prevent the spread of radical ideas, especially among youth, who are the primary targets of extremist seminar highlighted that countering extremism requires a comprehensive approach that combines security, intellectual, and technological solutions to ensure a safer and more stable future for UK House of Lords hosted this seminar, which was the second of its kind in less than two months, under the title, 'Strengthening the UK-Middle East and North Africa Partnership in Countering Extremism and Promoting Prosperity.'The event was honorarily sponsored by Lord Walney and attended by a distinguished group of parliamentarians, researchers, and counter-extremism seminar was moderated by Lord Walney, who emphasised that extremism poses a global threat that requires a unified international strategy to confront Donald Anderson, a member of the House of Lords, delivered a keynote speech, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation between the UK and the Middle East and North Africa in countering extremism. He also highlighted the key role of research institutions in analysing and understanding the challenges Western societies face due to the spread of extremist Mohammed Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, asserted that international cooperation is essential to countering extremism and promoting values of tolerance. He explained that TRENDS is actively working to dismantle the rhetoric of terrorist groups through meticulous scientific analysis of the concepts and ideologies of such organisations. The seminar featured the participation of Sir Liam Fox, Chairman of the UK Abraham Accords Group; Lady Olga Maitland, Former Member of the UK Parliament; Hannah Baldock, Editor of "Focus on Western Political Islam" magazine; Anna Stanley, Researcher at the Middle East Forum; Tom Tugendhat, Member of the Parliamentary Group for Countering Extremism; Daniel Kawczynski, Member of the UK Parliament; Aviram Belaishe, Head of the Counter-Extremism Project; Awad Al-Breiki, Senior Researcher and Head of TRENDS Global Sector; Abdulaziz AlShehhi, Senior Researcher and Deputy Head of Research Sector at TRENDS; and Shama Al-Qutba and Zayed Aldaheri, Researchers at TRENDS.
Telegraph
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Protesters able to hide faces because of mask ban loophole
Protesters will still be able to hide their faces on marches because of a loophole in a proposed mask ban. Police will be given the power to arrest individuals who refuse to remove face coverings at protests under plans laid out in the Crime and Policing Bill. It has emerged protesters will be able to maintain their face coverings for 'medical reasons', raising concerns that marchers could evade the ban with spurious claims. In a disability impact assessment of the new bill, officials said the wording of the offence had been 'designed to include an explicit defence where a person is wearing an item for health reasons'. The government moved to tighten rules on face coverings at protests over concerns they were used to intimidate members of the public and career out illegal activity. The government's former anti-extremism tsar has warned the exemption is too 'broad' and will be exploited by aggressive protestors to 'get them off the hook'. Lord Walney, who last month was sacked as the government's independent adviser on political violence and disruption, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'I'm really concerned to see this and I'm sure that it's something MPs and peers, when it comes through the Lords, will want to scrutinise very closely.' 'The strong suspicion is that protesters spread to their activists the magic words that will get them off the hook with the police. Look at the manuals they hand out to their protesters. They are very organised people and when there are caveats this broad it will quickly become the norm for them to take advantage of that.' Loophole could be 'exploited' Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said the loophole would 'inevitably be exploited by bad actors'. He called on the government to tighten the exemption to a list of 'specific and diagnosed medical conditions' to prevent it being used as a loophole. Mr Philp told the Sunday Telegraph: 'There are justifiable concerns that this could be a loophole to help aggressive protesters wearing masks circumvent the new clause in the bill that bans face coverings. It will be essential to make sure this exemption only applies to those with a specific and diagnosed medical condition, otherwise it will inevitably be exploited by bad actors.' 'Wearing a mask at a protest can often be intimidating to others or used by those planning aggressive or even illegal behaviour. The police need to be able to see people's faces to identify anyone who commits a criminal offence and to identify people who may be wanted.' In his landmark report on political violence and disruption delivered last year, Lord Walney recommended a blanket ban on face coverings at protests as well as the use of pyrotechnics. The report, titled Protecting Our Democracy From Coercion, recommended a crackdown on violent and intimidating forms of protest. Last month he was sacked when Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, abolished his independent advisory role. He believes the new Crime and Policing Bill does not give the police and Home Secretary sufficient powers to crack down on repeated mass demonstrations such as the Gaza protests that have been taking place in central London since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
Telegraph
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Home Office cut Islamist deradicalisation funding in half after Oct 7 massacre
The Prevent counter-terrorism programme spent half as much tackling Islamic extremism after the Oct 7 attacks than it did the year before, The Telegraph can reveal. Grants made by the programme focused on Islamic extremism went down by almost 50 per cent in the months following the Hamas attack on Israel compared with the same period the previous year. Between October and December 2023 the Home Office spent approximately £100,000 on grants designed to combat Islamist extremism – 19 per cent of a £529,300 total. Over that same period in 2022 around £196,000 was given in grants tackling the problem – 29 per cent of a total of £677,716. Local authorities bid for Prevent grants based on the radicalisation risks in their area before bespoke programmes are carried out by grassroots organisations. Grants to tackle 'extreme Right-wing' ideologies are also available under the scheme. The figures, released via a freedom of information request, will raise concerns over the way Prevent allocates funding. Anti-Semitic incidents reached a record high in 2023 and two thirds of them took place on or after Oct 7. Community tensions also rose after pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets every weekend in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Suella Braverman, the then home secretary, branded them 'hate marches' while police repeatedly arrested demonstrators over anti-Semitic signs and slogans. In 2023, the Home Office recorded the highest number of terrorism arrests for young people (aged under 17) since records began. Lord Walney, who served for four years as the Government's independent adviser on political violence and extremism, said the results of the analysis should 'ring alarm bells'. He said: 'Investment appears to have been cut at precisely the moment when you could expect a rise in extremism after the atrocities of Oct 7. 'There needs to be an urgent explanation from the [Home Office] as to why this funding was cut and whether this was a deliberate decision or dysfunction. Neither bodes well.' The former Labour MP added that the decision should be investigated as part of the review into Prevent commissioned following the Southport attack last July. The peer said the review should look at 'whether the system itself is fit for purpose', adding: 'The idea of there having been a cut after [Oct 7] ought to ring alarm bells on that front.' Prevent funding is released throughout the year, meaning that programmes being delivered in a specific time period were often commissioned before. The programme has been criticised after it emerged that Axel Rudakubana was referred to the scheme three times before launching his attack in Southport. The killer was flagged after it was discovered he had been showing an unhealthy interest in terrorism. The referral was not escalated as it was decided that Rudakubana did not hold a terrorist ideology. A Home Office spokesman said: 'Prevent remains a vital tool in stopping people from becoming terrorists and has supported nearly 5,000 people away from radicalisation since 2015.'
Telegraph
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour Islamophobia definition risks ‘blasphemy law by back door'
Just a matter of weeks ago, Lord Walney was serving in the heart of Government. But then he had the disconcerting experience of being sacked by some of his oldest friends. The peer and former Labour MP, who served for over four years as the Government's independent adviser on political violence and extremism, was told in February by former party comrades at the Home Office that his job no longer existed. 'I've known Yvette [Cooper] and Dan [Jarvis, the security minister] for a long time and count them both as friends and colleagues in the Labour Party. They were pretty open with me. It was clear they were looking to rejig things,' he said. 'The most important thing is not so much whether they wanted to keep me in the role of official adviser but whether they're going to take my advice. We will see.' The axe fell less than a year after Lord Walney delivered a report, commissioned by the Conservatives, which recommended much tighter rules on protest after years of disruptive direct action by environmental groups, pro-Gaza protesters and far-Right activists. Now he is keeping a sceptical eye on what the Government does next. In his first interview since his sacking, he says that Labour's fundamental problem is that the party is romantically wedded to the idea of protest. He says ministers have too much of a 'sceptical mindset' about cracking down on disruptive demonstrations. 'I think the Labour Party that I grew up in is founded upon and steeped in the tradition of protest. I mean we've all been on countless marches in life. And so instinctively and understandably and probably rightly, Labour people's priority is to protect the legitimate right to protest. Now, I have always been clear that that is my priority as well, but that very often the line is drawn in the wrong place.' 'My review was an attempt to challenge the received wisdom,' he says, 'about how we judge what is legitimate protest and what is not'. The Crime and Policing Bill, published this week, has not overawed him. 'The balance is not right at the moment,' he says after a first browse of the 330 page bill, 'there's more to be done to change public order law.' His position is simple: 'The right to protest does not necessarily translate into protesting in the same way, at large scale, in essentially the same place every week, deeply making one part of our community deeply uncomfortable and feeling under threat while draining police resources.' He believes the new Bill does not give the police and Home Secretary sufficient powers to crack down on repeated mass demonstrations such as the Gaza protests that have been taking place in central London since the beginning of the Middle East war in 2023. 'There is not that power in the legislation at the moment,' he says, 'That is manifestly a gap, and it's something that I think bodies representing Jewish communities in Britain are pressing the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to implement so there's still time to do it in the Bill, but they've not done this as yet. It's not in there.' He remains optimistic that with pressure in and outside parliament, 'there is time to get this right'. Keir Starmer's new hawkish stance on defence this week has given him hope. 'He's recognised his responsibility as PM and you've seen this last week he has genuinely moved the dial. So, ultimately, I'm optimistic and confident that he will want to do that on the home front as well.' He says there is a 'significant disconnect' between politicians and the public who support the right to protest but are 'deeply frustrated and really concerned by those who abuse the freedoms that we have here'. He refers to protestors who glorify terrorism on the streets and environmentalists who vandalise public spaces. 'Unquestionably, Islamist extremism and Islamist terrorism is the greatest threat this country faces and it is really important that we continue to acknowledge that,' he says, adding 'that remains the case post the Southport riots, damaging though they were, and it is vital that we are not deflected as a country from it.' He says the Government must be 'prepared to talk about the nature of the Islamist threat facing the country, where that manifests itself in violence, but also in the erosion of our values and the undermining of our way of life that Islamist extremists can pose.' He worries that the political class is too nervous about the subject: 'I think people within Westminster and Whitehall would not necessarily understand, or be confident to articulate a difference between Islamism and Islam and the vast majority of Muslims who practise that faith and would have no truck with Islamism.' The planned definition of Islamophobia being championed by Angela Rayner is the opposite of this candid approach, he says, and risks introducing 'a blasphemy law by the back door'. The Labour Party's official definition of Islamophobia, drafted in 2018 by an All Party Parliamentary Group, has been criticised for stifling legitimate debate. Lord Walney says the definition 'was produced by well meaning people that were nevertheless taken down a path by some less well meaning people into a definition that would curtail discussion'. If that definition became law, he says, the Government would 'literally brand taboo the subject that we need to be talking more about to protect ourselves'. 'We have to be free to criticise religion' Ministers 'need to say more clearly' that they oppose such laws, he says, 'because we have to be free in this country to criticise religion, which we do all the time to Christianity '. 'I think it is going to be the Government's responsibility to re-clarify what freedom of expression means in this country,' he says, citing examples of people being hounded by police for burning the Koran which he describes as a 'worrying test case'. 'Burning of sacred religious texts is abhorrent and disrespectful, but it's really important that it's not illegal,' he says. If any such definition were to be introduced, he would prefer the title 'Anti-Muslim Hatred' to 'Islamophobia', suggesting the latter title risks 'clear potential for unintended consequences'. 'You have to work that bit harder if you're going to call this Islamophobia. You've got to work that bit harder to make the distinction and to carve out freedom of speech and make sure that you don't introduce a blasphemy law by the back door'. Lord Walney has been on a political journey. Only a few years ago he was John Woodcock, Labour MP for Barrow-in-Furness, sharing space on the Commons benches with friends who would go on to form the current Cabinet. While they stayed in the Labour party, he became disenchanted with it over anti-Semitism and the party's Left-wing foreign policy under Jeremy Corbyn. He describes it now as 'a deeply traumatic time for all of us'. He left the party and told the public to vote Conservative at the 2019 election, later receiving a peerage from Boris Johnson before being appointed as the government's independent adviser on political violence and disruption. 'I don't regret the choices that I made but I looked at the Labour Party and thought that it was irredeemable, and those who stayed thought they could claw it back, and they were and they were right, and I was wrong. 'You just sort of need to do what you believe in, but that is why Keir and Yvette and others took the long view. There are many reasons why he's Prime Minister and I'm not, but one of them is that he took the long view and made that call when I didn't, and I really do respect that.'
