ABSTRACT
Introduction The objective of this chapter is threefold: to examine the ways in which violent jihad has manifested itself in the UK, predominantly since the events of 11 September 2001 in the USA; to explore the processes of radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism in a wider context and finally, to analyse the UK response to the current threat posed by radicalisation and recruitment. There are numerous difficulties in carrying out research in this area in the UK and these must be constantly borne in mind. Foremost among them is the current lack of authorative and reliable open source material. Only a very small number of cases have come to trial, yet alone completed one. In advance of any trial, the judicial system in the UK imposes strict controls on the release into the public domain of any material that may prejudice the defendant’s right to a fair trial, hence much information remains unknown until that point. A further complicating factor must also be considered. The time delay between defendants being charged with offences and their eventual trial is now of such a length that the events at issue may have occurred two or even three years before.1 This situation means that the information that enters the public domain as the consequence of its revelation at a trial is always subjected to a “time-lag” between its occurrence and its revelation. For example, due to the legal necessity for both the so-called “Ricin trial” and the trial of Abu Hamza to be completed, the full details surrounding the police search of Finsbury Park Mosque in January 2003 and the materials that were found there could not be put into the public domain until three years later.2 The final caveat is that the number of trials that have yet to be held is not insignificant. As of February 2006, sixty defendants had been charged with various offences relating to violent jihad and were remanded in custody awaiting trial.3 By June 2006, the figure had increased to nearly seventy and by October it had reached ninety.4 Only when the legal process has run its course over the next few years will it be possible to obtain a clearer and more comprehensive picture of terrorist activity related to violent jihad in the five years since 9/11. The challenge faced by the UK is a difficult one due both to the scale of the threat and its complexity. These difficulties are further compounded by the mul-
tidimensional way in which the threat can manifest itself, the range of individuals who become involved in it and the differing motivations that underlie their involvement. As well as countering those who are determined to carry out attacks, there is a pressing need to apply effective measures to mitigate the process of radicalisation and prevent the recruitment of people into terrorist activity. To add to the difficulties of the counter-terrorism practitioner, this must be done whilst simultaneously trying to identify and understand its causal factors and underlying dynamics in order to devise effective counter-measures. Dealing with this paradox is one of the most critical tasks currently facing the UK government, the intelligence agencies and the police.
