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Britain to unveil new counter-terrorism strategy
LONDON, June 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Britain on Monday was to unveil a new
counter-terrorism strategy under which it will boost intelligence cooperation
between the domestic MI5 service and police as well as the private sector.
The plan, to be dubbed Contest, will seek to ensure “that there are no
safe spaces for terrorists, no safe spaces internationally, in the UK or
online,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid was expected to say in a keynote speech.
“The threats are evolving. We must evolve too,” he will say to an audience
of counter-terrorism experts, according to excerpts released by the Home
Office.
The new strategy “incorporates the lessons learnt from the attacks in 2017
and our responses to them”.
Under the new blueprint, the security services will be alerted to
suspicious purchases more swiftly.
The government want firms to raise the alarm as quickly as possible if
they have evidence of unusual transactions — such as someone stockpiling
large amounts of chemicals or acting suspiciously when hiring a vehicle.
Javid will also identify “extreme right-wing terrorism” as an increasing
threat and note similarities to the Islamic State group.
It will be his first major speech on security since becoming home
secretary in April following the resignation of Amber Rudd over the Windrush
immigration scandal.
The son of Pakistani parents who emigrated to Britain in the 1960s, he
will touch on his own background to address the issue.
“There’s one other thing that Islamists and the far right have in common,”
he will say. “As a Home Secretary with a name like Sajid Javid — I’m
everything they despise.
“So the way I see it, I must be doing something right.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1438 hrs