Date: unknown
Location: www.aa.com.tr
LONDON
The UK’s terrorism watchdog has concluded that the decision not to classify the Southport murders as an act of terrorism was the correct one, warning against expanding the legal definition of terrorism to include all forms of extreme violence.
Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, said the legal definition of terrorism is already broad enough and should not be extended.
“Expanding it could increase the possibility of misapplication and, in theory, abuse,” he concluded.
The review follows the Southport stabbings, in which a lone attacker killed three young girls and injured 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop.
The incident sparked debate over whether acts of extreme violence carried out by individuals with personal grievances should be classified as terrorism.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested updating UK legislation to address the emerging threat of “extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms.”
However, Hall emphasized that terrorism should be reserved for acts of violence committed to advance a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause, rather than being used as a catch-all label for all forms of serious violence.
He warned that expanding the definition would have unintended consequences, including potentially criminalizing actions such as the sharing of war footage and placing additional strain on resources.
While acknowledging the real threat posed by “male loners” such as the Southport attacker, Hall argued that law enforcement agencies should learn from counterterrorism practices to better manage the risk from individuals planning acts of extreme violence motivated by personal grievances or a desire for notoriety.
“Any family member whose loved one was murdered by a violent fantasist or psychopath would have reason to ask why Counter Terrorism Policing and MI5 were not monitoring the individual and preventing the attack,” Hall wrote in his review.
The review was commissioned by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in January to examine how terrorism is legally classified in light of new and emerging threats.