The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill 2014-15, having been rushed through the House of Commons with alarming speed and ease, has passed its second reading in the House of Lords. It is now in the final…
Fans of The Simpsons might recall an episode entitled Mr Spritz Goes to Washington. Krusty the Clown gets elected to Congress and the family receives an education in the activities required to get things…
Even as the world was still trying to make sense of the Paris attacks, attention suddenly shifted towards Brussels with the news that two suspected jihadis had been killed in a police anti-terror raid…
With the shock from the Paris terrorist attacks barely diminished, attention in a number of Western capitals is understandably fixated on counter-terrorism. Politicians are focused on the question of how…
The hunt for the two killers who attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo is over, after a three-day chase and a standoff at a warehouse outside Paris. The two suspects were killed, and the hostage they took…
Universities are acutely aware of their role in preventing terrorism. Now the government has proposed a statutory duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill that will require universities, schools…
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill introduced in the UK parliament this week is designed to place legal requirements on certain businesses to retain information about user communications. It has its…
As she seeks to push through tough new terrorism legislation, Home Secretary Theresa May has reported an increased danger of terror attacks in the UK. But May’s claim that 40 terrorist plots have been…
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of Parliament has now released its 191-page report into Lee Rigby’s murder. The report concludes that even though the ISC “discovered a number of errors…
With its vigorous, fractious media and political environment, the UK is a nation of second guessers. Nowhere is that more evident than in the response to the vicious murder of Lee Rigby. A parliamentary…
The results of seven school inspections in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have brought a fresh wave of allegations that some schools are not providing a broad and balanced curriculum for their pupils…
The chief inspector of schools’ intervention into the running of seven London schools shines a light onto several emerging developments in the Prevent strategy for countering violent extremism. Michael…
The recent security lapses at the White House have brought to the forefront the 13-year-old question of how to effectively secure public spaces. As officials weigh increasing perimeter security and installing…
For some, it began with a tap on the shoulder at Oxford or Cambridge. Now recruitment for British intelligence occurs via newspaper and online advertisements and aptitude tests through websites. Despite…
The government introduced its third set of national security laws last week. The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No 1) 2014 valuably empowers the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Intelligence…
To read much of the media coverage of the shootings at the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, you might think that Canada has just lost its innocence – that sleepy Ottawa has finally been dragged into the…
More than a decade of security-based transnational approaches to combating terrorist activity and propaganda have demonstrated that these alone are ineffective. Sometimes, security measures can actually…
New powers targeting foreign fighters and political “hate crimes” are set to be amended, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed in the hope of pushing the legislation through parliament next week. But…
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott calls it “a thoroughly objectionable organisation”, “un-Australian” and “un-Islamic”. But would it be a good idea to ban the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir? Hizb…