Terrorism has changed: UK PM Starmer warns of threats from ‘loners, misfits’

London: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday declared that the nature of terrorism has changed, which means the UK faces an added threat from "loners and misfits" accessing dangerous material online.

The statement came as he announced a new public inquiry into the fatal stabbing of three schoolgirls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Southport in north-west England last July. On Monday, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the murders in court.

It then emerged that the Welsh-born teenager of Rwandan heritage had been known to the local authorities for his violent tendencies and referred three times to the government’s anti-extremism programme Prevent.

“When I look at the details of this case – the extreme nature of the violence, the meticulous plan to attack young children in a place of joy and safety, violence clearly intended to terrorise – then I understand why people wonder what the word ‘terrorism’ means,” Starmer said in an address from 10 Downing Street in London.

“Britain now faces a new threat. Terrorism has changed. In the past, the predominant threat was highly organised groups with clear political intent, groups like Al Qaeda," he said.  "That threat of course remains. But now, alongside that we also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom, accessing all manner of material online, desperate for notoriety,” he said.   “Sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups. But fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake… We have to be ready to face every threat,” he said.

Starmer indicated that if a law change is needed to recognise this “new and dangerous threat”, then action would be taken as a review is undertaken of the UK’s entire counter-extremist system by barrister David Anderson, the new Independent Prevent Commissioner.  The UK PM also sought to dismiss the controversies surrounding last year's Southport attacks, with some allegations of a “cover-up”.

“Southport will be a line in the sand. We will honour those three little girls and deliver, not just justice but the change that the people and families of Southport deserve,” he added.

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had set the tone for a public inquiry into the case in keeping with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) requirements that information about Rudakubana’s past could not be made public before his murder trial to avoid prejudicing the jury and a collapse of the court case.

“But now that there has been a guilty plea, it is essential that the families and the people of Southport can get answers about how this terrible attack could take place and about why this happened to their children,” said Cooper.

She said the Home Office had already commissioned an urgent “Prevent Learning Review” into the referrals that took place of the teenager’s violent tendencies.

“This terrible case comes against a backdrop over a series of years in which growing numbers of teenagers have been referred to Prevent, investigated by counter-terror police, or referred to other agencies amid concerns around serious violence and extremism. We need to face up to why this has been happening and what needs to change,” added the minister.

Following Rudakubana’s guilty plea, the CPS released a statement noting that he had also admitted to the production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of a terrorist document – a PDF file titled ‘Military Studies in the Jihad against Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual’.

“It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence.  He has shown no sign of remorse. The prosecution was determined to prove his guilt,” said Ursula Doyle, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor with CPS Mersey-Cheshire.

Rudakubana is set to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday when he faces a life sentence. At previous hearings, it emerged that Rudakubana was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and his teachers had been concerned about some violent behaviour. He has been seen by psychiatrists while in custody but is said to have refused to engage with the process.