The UK government has been accused of ignoring top-level advice to change laws to curb hate, as a former policing boss gave a warning that existing legislation allows people to “glorify terrorism”.
Sir Mark Rowley, co-author of a review into the country’s counter-terrorism strategies, said eight months after submitting the findings of his probe he has yet to hear anything back from ministers.
He said the review, which he carried out in collaboration with the Commission for Countering Extremism, found new laws were needed to stop hateful groups from “operating with impunity”.
Sir Mark spoke out about the lack of response after the killing of Sir David Amess, a 69-year-old Conservative MP who was stabbed to death while holding a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on Friday. Officers investigating the killing have declared it a terror incident.
The victim's family have said they are "absolutely broken" by the father-of-five's death.
Sir Mark’s review, submitted in February, said extremists were exploiting gaps within existing hate crime and terrorism legislation.
It argued that terrorists including the London Bridge attack ringleader could have been arrested earlier had tighter laws been in place.
Sir Mark, who retired as the head of UK counter-terrorism policing in 2018, said without action from the government, loopholes exist that leave Britain vulnerable to terror groups.
“I have had no feedback from the Home Office on their plans in relation to our report on the absence of a coherent legal framework to tackle hateful extremism,” Sir Mark told The Independent.
“It remains legal in some circumstances intentionally to stir up race or religious hatred or to glorify terrorism.
“These are dangerous loopholes highlighted in our report that continue to be exploited by hateful extremists.”
The CCE was set up for former prime minister Theresa May after the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017, which killed 22 people and injured 1,017.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi was a 22-year-old of Libyan descent who had been inspired by ISIS.
The CCE has repeatedly given warnings that more needs to be done to tackle terrorism threats facing the UK, including closing legal loopholes that allow those who inspired terrorists to go free, a report in The Independent said.
But, the paper said, ministers have not formally responded to any CCE reports released since 2019 and no suggested measures have been enacted, despite warnings that security threats would worsen until the government stepped up its response.
Figen Murray, whose son, Martyn Hett, was killed in the Manchester attack, referred to the Manchester Arena inquiry’s report, which cautioned that “doing nothing is not an option” in regard to extremism, while telling the paper there had been many opportunities for lessons to be learnt on countering terrorism.
“Violent extremism continues to threaten communities and with attacks on Manchester Arena, in London, the Reading attack, to mention but a few, there have been ample opportunities to learn lessons and establish what needs to be done,” she said.
The newspaper also quoted Brendan Cox, widower of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, as saying before Amess’s death that “it seems bizarre not to have acted on – or at least responded to – the recommendations made [by the CCE]. There’s nothing more important than protecting the public”.
In September the head of MI5, Ken McCallum, gave a warning that the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban was likely to have “emboldened” terrorists in the UK.
"There is no doubt that events in Afghanistan will have heartened and emboldened some of those extremists and so being vigilant to precisely those kinds of risks is what my organisation is focused on along with a range of other threats," he told BBC Four’s Today programme.
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
