Overview
"Terrorism" in Great Britain is defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, and its legal concept continues to evolve following new trends and patterns. [1] When looking at terrorism incidents in Great Britain, we need to take into account completed, attempted or recorded events in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (UK). The responsibility for preventing and controlling terrorism in the UK lies with the Home Office, which has introduced a targeted programme and strategy called "Prevent". [2]
According to the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), in 2024, there were 248 arrests for attempted, failed or completed terrorist incidents. As of March 2024, 246 individuals were put in custody due to terrorist related offences.
According to Europol, the reasons behind terrorist attacks in Great Britain are many. [3] These have generally been attributed to hate, extremist or radicalised violence that escalates to acts of terror. [4] According to a number to analysts of terrorist studies, these attacks have been motivated by right or left wing ideologies, paramilitaries, religious fundamentalism, nationalist or white supremacy. [5] However, criminologists, such as Theo Gavrielides, [6] [7] Clarence Augustus Martin [8] and many others argued that there are not any specific criminological traits that can help to profile a terrorist. Violent radicalisation and extremism are complex societal phenomena that cannot easily be predicted. [9] During the 20th century, most attacks were carried out by various Irish Republican Army (IRA) groups and were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict (the Troubles). In the late 20th century there were also isolated attacks by Middle Eastern terrorist groups, though the vast majority of the attacks were the work of the IRA and splinter groups. During the 21st century, however, most terrorist incidents in Britain have been linked to Islamic extremism. [10]
Compared to other European countries, Great Britain records one of the highest numbers of terrorist attacks. Between 1970 - 2019, there have been at least 3,395 terrorist-related deaths in the UK, the highest in western Europe. [11] The vast majority of the deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict and happened in Northern Ireland. [11] Between 1971 and 2001, there were 430 terrorist-related deaths in Great Britain. Of these, 125 deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict, [12] and 305 deaths were linked to other causes [13] – most of the latter deaths occurred in the Lockerbie bombing where 270 people died. [13] [14]
Prevented, failed or aborted attacks
These are known attacks, some of which caused damage, which could have constituted a threat to life had they worked or been large enough. The list includes only a few attacks that were at the planning stage but not implemented. Also, information about many thwarted attacks is not made public by authorities.
- 5 November 1605: Gunpowder Plot: A pro-Catholic conspiracy attempted to assassinate King James VI and I during the State Opening of Parliament where the polity of England had assembled, including the lords spiritual and temporal and members of parliament. 36 barrels of gunpowder were found under the Palace of Westminster being guarded by Guy Fawkes. The attempt was foiled and Fawkes and the leaders of the conspiracy were convicted of high treason and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
- 15 February 1894: Anarchist Martial Bourdin was killed by his own bomb outside the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. There were no other casualties. [105] Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent , published in 1907, drew on this event.
- January 1981: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) planted a bomb in the Suvla barrack block at RAF Uxbridge. The device was discovered, and the 35 RAF musicians and 15 airmen living there were evacuated before it exploded.
- 1985: Police found 10 grenades, seven petrol bombs and two detonators at the home of former Group Development Director for the British National Party, Tony Lecomber, after he was injured by a nail bomb that he was carrying to the offices of the Workers' Revolutionary Party. Convicted under the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
- 1 March 1992: An IRA bomb was defused by police at White Hart Lane train station in London.
- 23 October 1993: In Reading, Berkshire, an IRA bomb exploded at a signal post near the railway station, some hours after 5 lb (2 kg) of Semtex was found in the toilets of the station. The resulting closure of the railway line and evacuation of the station caused travel chaos for several hours, but no-one was injured.
- 24 April 1996: 1996 Hammersmith Bridge bombing attempt.
- 1 June 2000: Real IRA suspected of planting a high-explosive device attached to a girder under the south side of Hammersmith Bridge, which detonated at 4:30 am. [106]
- 17 November 2000: Police arrested Moinul Abedin. His Birmingham house contained bomb-making instructions, equipment, and traces of the explosive HTMD. A nearby lock-up rented by Abedin contained 100 kg of the chemical components of HTMD. [107] In March 2020, Jonathan Evans, former Director General of MI5 gave an interview and commented on the case: 'The first indication that we had an actual, live, real threat in the U.K....the first arrest of anybody in the U.K. linked to al-Qaeda who was planning an attack here...with the fall of the Taliban and the Afghan camps in 2001/2002, evidence came to light which demonstrated that this was an at least inspired al-Qaeda plot of some sort'. [108]
- 3 November 2001: The 2001 Birmingham bombing by the Real Irish Republican Army. The bomb failed to explode. [109]
- 21 July 2005: The 21 July 2005 London bombings, also conducted by four would-be Islamic suicide bombers on the public transport, whose bombs failed to detonate.
- 10 August 2006: The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot to blow up 10 planes flying from Heathrow saw the arrest of 24 people from their homes in Britain, chaos at airports as security measures were put in place, and numerous high-level statements from US and UK officials. Eight people were put on trial, and three found guilty of conspiracy to murder. It was shown at their trial how bottles of liquid could be made into effective bombs. Following this incident, carriage of liquids in hand luggage on aircraft was restricted internationally to very small amounts. Rashid Rauf, suspected to have been the link between the UK plotters and Pakistan, escaped to Pakistan, where he was arrested, but escaped again on his way to an extradition hearing. It was reported that he was killed in a US airstrike in North Waziristan in November 2008. [110]
- 28 September 2006: Talbot Street bomb-making haul.
- 1 February 2007: Plot to behead a British Muslim soldier in order to undermine the morale of the British Army. Pervaiz Khan, Basiru Gassama, Zahoor Iqbal, Mohammed Irfan, and Hamid Elasmar were sentenced to between 40 months and life for the plot.
- 29 June 2007: London car bombs. Bilal Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed were found to be involved in planting the bombs. Both were also responsible for the Glasgow Airport Attack.
- 22 May 2008: Exeter attempted bombing in a café toilet by an Islamist extremist, injuring only the perpetrator. [111]
- 3 September 2009: Manchester Piccadilly multiple suicide bomber plot. [112] In 2009 Pakistani national Abid Naseer was one of 12 suspects arrested on suspicion of being part of a Manchester terror cell, after arriving in the UK a year before. All were released on insufficient evidence, but ordered to be deported from the UK. Naseer's deportation to Pakistan was prevented on human rights grounds, as he was ruled 'likely to be mistreated'. In 2013, on further evidence from Al-Qaeda sources, including documents from the bin Laden Raid, he was extradited to the US, and on 4 March 2015 was found guilty of masterminding an Al-Qaeda directed plot to synchronize multiple suicide bombings around Manchester's Arndale Centre and Piccadilly shopping centre in a coordinated attack involving other locations, including the New York Subway, with other cells.
- June 2012: Five Islamic extremists plotted to bomb an English Defence League rally in Dewsbury but arrived late and were arrested when returning to Birmingham. A sixth was also convicted. [113]
- April 2013: As part of Operation Pitsford, 11 Muslim extremists are jailed for plotting a terror attack involving suicide bombers. [114]
- 7 July 2015: Attempted anniversary London 7/7 bomb plot. [115] Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan were sentenced to life imprisonment for preparing an act of terrorism. [116] They had 10 kg of urea nitrate. Rehman called himself the 'silent bomber' and asked his Twitter followers to choose between the Westfield London shopping centre or the London Underground for the planned suicide bomb.
- 25 August 2017: Mohiussunnath Chowdhury slashed police officers with a sword outside Buckingham Palace while shouting "Allahu akbar" repeatedly. He was found not guilty of terrorism by a court, but was convicted on a single count of preparing an act of terrorism. During and after release from prison, he went on to plan further terror attacks, and was arrested again in 2018.
- 28 November 2017: In an attempt to kill Prime Minister Theresa May, Islamic State terrorist Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman was arrested in London after collecting a fake bomb and suicide vest from undercover operatives. [117]
- February 2018: Ethan Stables, a white supremacist, was arrested plotting a machete attack on an LGBT parade. [118]
- 9 April 2018: Fatah Mohammed Abdullah "bought more than 8,000 matches, fireworks, fuses, explosives precursors – or substances that could be used to manufacture explosives – and a remote control detonator." He pleaded guilty to inciting people to commit terror attacks in Germany, and buying explosive equipment.
- 3 July 2019: Mohiussunnath Chowdhury and his sister were arrested for planning to target London tourist sites including Madame Tussauds, Piccadilly Circus, and London's Gay Pride parade, using a vehicle, knife and gun. He was convicted of plotting terror acts on 10 February 2020.
- 21 February 2020: Islamic State supporter Safiyya Amira Shaikh was arrested after she admitted plotting to blow herself up in a bomb attack on St Paul's Cathedral, stating that she would "kill 'til I'm dead" [119]
- 29 December 2020: Police arrested Matthew Cronjager, the self-proclaimed "boss" of the terror group Exiled 393. Cronjager and others had discussed plans for a fascist revolution in the UK, including arming the group through a collective PayPal account that could be used to buy weapons. Cronjager also plotted to kill an Asian friend who had boasted to him about sleeping with white women, telling an undercover police officer that he wanted to obtain a sawn-off shotgun to kill the victim for "a violation of nature". He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. [120]
- 5 March 2022: Al-Arfat Hassan plotted to "kill thousands" in an attack on an unspecified target in London. He purchased knives and attempted to construct a bomb. [121] Several other people were arrested for failing to report the plot to the police.
- 23 September 2022: Edward Little was arrested while travelling from Brighton to London intending to assassinate Christian preacher Hatun Tash, and allegedly planned to kill others, in Hyde Park. He pleaded guilty on 19 May 2023 to preparing to commit acts of terrorism. [122] [123]
- 20 January 2023: Attempted bombing of St James's Hospital in Leeds: Mohammad Sohail Farooq was arrested for attempting to launch an Islamic State-inspired suicide attack on a hospital in Leeds and a RAF base using 10 kg of explosives. He was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism on 2 July 2024. [124] [125]
- 18 March 2024: Jacob Graham, an anarchist, planned to launch a bombing campaign aimed at politicians and government buildings, aiming to kill at least 50 people. He had acquired explosive chemicals and had been attempting to construct bombs at the time of arrest. He was motivated by hatred of the government and ecological beliefs. Graham was convicted of preparing terrorist acts along with possession and dissemination of terrorist materials. [126] [127]
Given the nature of counter-terrorism, successes in preventing terrorist attacks in the UK are not always disclosed. Authorities sometimes simply state numbers of attacks prevented, e.g. 12 attacks were reported in March 2017 to have been thwarted in the previous year, some only hours before they were to have been attempted. [128] During the police advocacy of 90-day detention in relation to the Terrorism Act 2006 they produced documents listing cases about which they could not go into detail.
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