This needs emergency legislation! Labour given urgent warning over plots | Politics | News

Shabana Mahmood confirmed that extremists who do not have a “core ideology” and plan attacks will be tried under a new crime.

The Home Office is under pressure to launch a “mass casualty attack” amid fears of a growing number of thugs obsessed with violence because they are not classed as terrorists.

Conspirators could be prosecuted for planning an atrocity, while those who knew but did nothing could be arrested.

This would reflect terrorism legislation.

And the Home Secretary acknowledged there was a wider problem of “boys whose minds are warped by time spent isolating online”.

The inquest heard killer Axel Rudakubana was referred to the Government’s counter-terrorism program Prevent three times before attacking the dance class on July 29, 2024.

But chairman Sir Adrian Fulford said officers were “hampered” by a lack of clarity over whether they should employ someone who showed signs of being obsessed with violence but not committed to any particular ideology.

Ms Mahmood said: “Unlike terrorist attacks, there is no crime on the statute book if you are planning an attack without an underlying ideology.”

He suggested legislation to fill this gap would be “put forward as soon as parliamentary time permits”.

Ms Mahmood later added: “The investigation also highlights a wider problem, with increasing numbers of young men affected by extreme violence, boys whose minds have been warped by time spent in isolation online.

“This is a risk for all of us. Where a person is vulnerable to terrorism it can and should be managed through the Prevent programme, but where it is not there is no clear approach to this risk.

“Today we have published terms of reference for the second part of the Southport Inquiry and it will confront this challenge head on.”

But Shadow Home Secretary Alicia Kearns told the Daily Express that Labor remained undecided on the issue.

He said: “Two years on, the Government has still not acted on the very clear advice given by the Independent Examiner of Terrorism Legislation: introduce a new offense for a person who plans a mass casualty attack without a terrorist motive.

“While nothing can heal the pain caused by Rudakubana, this crime will give the police the power to disrupt order and appropriately punish imitators in the future.

“The government rejected the amendment to introduce this crime exactly one year ago. Then they claimed that they would enact the law. The Minister of Internal Affairs repeated this promise today.

“The Conservatives have a draft bill prepared with Jonathan Hall KC. We will work with the government but we need to see action, not false promises.

“This is too important and urgent to accept any further delay. They must bring forward emergency legislation.”

Sir Adrian said it was the “wrong decision” to refuse Rudakubana further action under the Prevent programme.

He also said there were three other “missed opportunities” for Rudakubana to be referred to Prevent.

But he said he could not determine “any degree of certainty” about what the outcome would be if Rudakubana were adopted by the program.

He said in his report: “Simply put, this was a clearly marked disaster waiting to happen, but there was no effective mechanism to prevent it.

“In my opinion, the events of July 29, 2024 have revealed a significant gap in the mechanisms that provide protection to the public, including the adoption of the Prevent program.”

Ms Mahmood said the Government was reviewing Prevent thresholds and issued updated guidance.

He said: “We have introduced a new Prevent assessment framework, which includes mandatory training for counter-terrorism case officers. Oversight of repeated Prevent referrals has been strengthened to ensure cumulative risk is not missed and senior signature is required before a case is closed.”