UK extremists 'increasingly radicalised by internet content'

People aged 20 and under now account for a third of detained terror suspects

Plots from attackers radicalised online were most likely to be foiled, research suggests. PA

Extremists are now more likely to be radicalised through online content, but plots hatched on the internet are prone to failure, research suggests.

The role the internet played in the radicalisation of 437 convicted offenders in England and Wales was examined by academics and published in a study by the UK's Ministry of Justice.

The study found that the internet is “increasingly prominent” in radicalisation but plots from attackers radicalised online were “most likely” to be foiled.

It comes as Home Office figures, published separately on Thursday, show children and young adults aged 20 and under now account for a third of detained terror suspects.

The proportion of prisoners holding Islamist extremist views has fallen to its lowest level on record while the number of those categorised as adhering to an extreme right-wing ideology has risen to its highest level in the past year, the figures also reveal.

A third of the sample of criminals surveyed in the research had mental health problems or personality disorders.

Countries on global terror index — worst — in pictures

1. Afghanistan. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 9.592 out of 10. Security personnel inspect a damaged vehicle, which was carrying and shooting rockets, in the aftermath of a rocket attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, 21 November. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

2. Iraq. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 8.682 out of 10. More than 200 people were killed in an ISIS suicide bombing in an area packed with shoppers in Baghdad in July 2016. AFP

3. Nigeria. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.778 out of 10. Smouldering ashes left after an attack by Boko Haram fighters on a funeral in northeast Nigeria left 65 people dead, in Budu near Maiduguri on July 28, 2019. AFP

4. Syria. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 9.592 out of 10. The scene of a car bomb in Aleppo province on November 24, 2020. Bakr Alkasem / AFP

5. Somalia. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.645 out of 10. Security forces gather in the remains of destroyed houses after a suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia on November 17, 2020. AP

6. Yemen. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.581 out of 10. The ruins of a mosque at a military camp in Yemen's Marib province that was hit by a Houthi missile attack on January 18, 2020, killing more than 100. Reuters

7. Pakistan. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.541 out of 10. A house in which militants were suspected to have sheltered is in flames after a gunfight happened between rebels and security forces that killed 4 soldiers, in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, on February 18, 2019. Habib Naqash / AFP

8. India. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.353 out of 10. Security forces near vehicles damaged by an improvised explosive device blast at Lethpora on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, on February 14, 2019 in Srinagar, India. Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times via Getty

9. Congo. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.178 out of 10. ISIS' increased activity in the region has forced many people to leave their homes. AFP

10. Philippines. Score on Global Terrorism Index: 7.099 out of 10. Marawi residents return from evacuation centres, after ISIL-linked extremists were expelled from their city, walk past a bullet-ridden house believed to have been rented by militant leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute before their attack on city, on October 29, 2017. Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

The conditions most commonly reported included Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and depression, with these “most common” among those mainly radicalised online, the findings indicated.

Analysis of specialist reports from 2010 to the end of last year also suggested the biggest increase in online radicalisation over time was among female offenders and people aged over 25, researchers said.

“Findings suggest that the internet has become increasingly prominent in radicalisation pathways and offending over time for convicted extremists in England and Wales,” said the report.

“Technological advances have led to changes in the types of applications/platforms used over time.”

The report added: “For attackers specifically, those exposed to online influences in their radicalisation pathway were more likely to use the online domain for attack-planning behaviours.

“Those attackers reported as being primarily radicalised online were found to be the least successful in plotting attacks and most likely to see their plots foiled at the planning stage.”

Countries on global terror index — best — in pictures

The UAE was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Victor Besa / The National

Oman was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Christopher Pike / Reuters

Eswatini was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Equatorial Guinea was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Togo was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Mauritania was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Belarus was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Gambia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries

Slovenia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Miran Kambic / www.slovenia.info

Singapore was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. AFP

Romania was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Courtesy: Airbnb

Portugal was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Alamy

North Korea was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Kim Won Jin / AFP

Namibia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Courtesy: Little Kulala / Wilderness Safaris

Mongolia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Courtesy: Frank Schieweck / Adiyabold Namkhai

Mauritius was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries

Kosovo was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries

Iceland was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Eritrea was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries

El Salvador was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Jose Cabezas / AFP

Dominican Republic was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Getty

Cuba was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Yamil Lage / AFP

Croatia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Alamy

Cambodia was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP

Botswana was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries

Bhutan was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Courtesy: The Postcard Dewa Hotel.

Turkmenistan was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries.EPA

Timor-Leste was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. iStockphoto.com

Guinea-Bissau was listed as a country completely unaffected by terrorism in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. It was listed as 135 along with 28 other countries. Lauren Lancaster / The National

The research was carried out by Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth universities with the Prison and Probation Service and follows on from a report published last year.

Lead author Jonathan Kenyon said the study provided a “contemporary picture” of the online activities of convicted extremists in England and Wales until the end of 2021 and found “marked differences” in behaviour and offending between those who were radicalised on the internet, in person or a mixture of both.

This highlights the importance of taking these factors into account when “assessing risk” and considering how to tackle terrorism, he said.

Jens Binder, associate professor of psychology at Nottingham Trent University's School of Social Sciences, said mainstream websites and apps were “routinely” used, “sometimes to reach out to the many users there and to lead some of them to more secluded online locations”, which is “likely to require a more proactive and transparent approach from tech companies” so radical content is reported.

UK increases terrorism threat level to 'severe' — video

Christopher Baker-Beall, senior lecturer in crisis and disaster management at the Bournemouth University Disaster Management Centre, stressed the findings were “not suggesting that those with mental illness represent a community from which terrorists are more likely to originate”.

“Nor does the report suggest that mental illness be viewed as a predictor of terrorist intent,” he continued.

“Instead, it highlights the importance of providing mental health support to those convicted of extremist offences to ensure they do not go on to reoffend or commit further acts of terrorism”.

The Ministry of Justice said the views expressed in the report are those of the authors and “are not necessarily shared” by the department and added: “Nor do they represent government policy”.

Last month, MI5 director general Ken McCallum described extreme right-wing terrorism as now a “diffuse online threat”.

“From the comfort of their bedrooms, individuals are easily able to access right-wing extremist spaces, network with each other and move towards a radical mindset,” he said.