ABSTRACT
For many scholars, the history of anti-terrorism laws commenced on 11 September 2001, the day that 'changed everything'. However, for the United Kingdom, turning points in legal regimes can be located in both more distant and more recent events, all still marked by commemorations. In reality, the history of anti-terrorism laws has long been fluid and without a definite finish line, and Blair was no more able to master the tides of history than King Canute. The chapter offers a sense of how counterterrorism laws evolved in the period from 11 September 2001 until 7 July 2005. In this way, a clearer understanding of the dynamism in terrorism and counterterrorism can be acquired. The chapter details the changes after 7 July 2005. It reflects upon the more contemporary policy re-evaluations which are being pushed by the phenomenon of the foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) and the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
