• UK holds talks with LinkedIn on clamping down on Chinese espionage

    Government wants social media platforms to be less attractive for foreign agents after recent intelligence warningsThe government is holding talks with LinkedIn on how it can clamp down on prolific Chinese espionage activity after a rare interference alert was issued by MI5.The National Protective Security Authority, which is part of the UK’s security services, is speaking to social media platforms about making them less attractive for foreign agents, a government official told the Guardia
  • Advisers told ministers banning Palestine Action could make it more popular

    Briefing paper warned proscription could also heighten Muslim-Jewish tensions and be seen as favouring IsraelMinisters banned Palestine Action despite being told by their advisers it could “inadvertently enhance” the group’s profile, an official government document shows.The briefing paper was written three months before the proscription of the group, which was set up to take direct action to halt UK arms supplies to Israel. Continue reading...
  • Legal experts and politicians criticise process used to ban Palestine Action

    Independent commission says definition of terrorism relied on by ministers is too broad and more parliamentary oversight is neededLegal experts, former government ministers and an ex-MI6 director have criticised the process used to ban Palestine Action.The members of an independent commission set up by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law said the definition of terrorism was too broad and better parliamentary oversight and judicial scrutiny was needed. Continue reading...
  • Lammy says he was not ‘equipped with the details’ when facing questions on mistaken prisoner release at PMQs – as it happened

    This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDavid Lammy, the deputy PM and justice secretary, has welcomed the fact that Billy Smith is back in custody, but described the spike in release mistakes as “unacceptable”.According to PA Media, Lammy said:William Smith is back in custody. The spike in mistaken releases is unacceptable.We’re modernising prison systems – replacing paper with digital tools to cut errors. Continue reading...
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  • Far-right extremists outnumber Islamists in anti-terror programme referrals, data shows

    Total referrals reach record high, with 21% being due to ‘extreme rightwing concerns’ and 10% to Islamist ideologyMore suspected far-right extremists were referred to the government’s anti-terrorism programme Prevent last year than those suspected of Islamist extremism, annual figures show.In total, 8,778 referrals were made because of suspicions of extremist radicalisation in the year to March 2025, 27% more than the previous year and the highest number of referrals in a singl
  • Counter-terror police investigate claim UK university halted research after Chinese pressure

    Sheffield Hallam University ordered professor to cease human rights study into Uyghurs forced labour in ChinaAn investigation into allegations that a British university was subjected to pressure from Beijing authorities to halt research about human rights abuses in China has been referred to counter-terrorism police.The Guardian reported on Monday morning that Sheffield Hallam University, home to the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC) research institution, had ordered professo
  • Government rules out public inquiry into Birmingham pub bombings

    Ministers suggest independent commission set up to investigate deaths related to Troubles could look into 1974 attackMinisters have ruled out establishing a public inquiry into the IRA’s 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.On 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and 220 injured when bombs were detonated at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham, in an attack widely believed to have been orchestrated by the Provisional IRA. Continue reading...
  • China spy row: Berry knew some of his contacts were non-commercial, messages suggest

    Man at centre of abandoned spy case has said he reported to Chinese company with clients that wanted ‘to develop trading links with UK’Christopher Berry, the man at the heart of a controversial and now-abandoned Chinese espionage case, appeared to be aware that he was supplying information to a non-commercial client, according to messages seen by the Guardian.In August 2022, Berry sent a voice note saying that “they want me to work for them directly instead of going through the
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  • British troops to get powers to shoot down drones near military bases

    Defence secretary will announce measures to combat threat of unmanned aircraft after incursions in EuropeSoldiers are to be given new powers to shoot down unidentified drones believed to be threatening UK military bases in response to a recent spate of incursions and sightings in Europe.John Healey, the defence secretary, will announce the measure at a speech in the City of London on Monday, in which he will also warn of an increased level of Russian drone attacks into Ukraine and eastern Europe
  • Legal challenge to Palestine Action ban can go ahead, court rules

    Judges reject Home Office attempt to block judicial review of group’s proscription under Terrorism ActA legal challenge to the ban on Palestine Action can go ahead next month after the court of appeal rejected the Home Office’s attempt to block the case.In a blow to the government, on Friday, three judges, led by the lady chief justice, Sue Carr, upheld Mr Justice Chamberlain’s decision to grant the Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori a judicial review of the group’s
  • Three neo-Nazis jailed for plotting terror attacks on UK mosques and synagogues

    Group of ‘like-minded extremists’ styled themselves after the SS and amassed arsenal of more than 200 weapons Three neo-Nazi extremists who amassed an arsenal of more than 200 weapons and were planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues in England have been jailed for between eight and 11 years.Christopher Ringrose, 35, Marco Pitzettu, 26, and Brogan Stewart, 25, communicated online and formed a group with “like-minded extremists” who wanted to “go to war f
  • Head of CPS faces cross-party pressure to explain China spy trial collapse

    Stephen Parkinson called on to give ‘fuller explanation’ as MI5 expresses frustration over charges being droppedThe director of public prosecutions has come under intense cross-party pressure to explain why the China spy trial collapsed as MI5 expressed frustration at the decision and MPs launched a series of inquiries into how it was taken.The chairs of the home affairs, foreign affairs, justice and national security committees wrote together to Stephen Parkinson, the head of the Cr
  • Why MPs prefer conspiracy theory over cock-up in China spy case row | John Crace

    The facts had changed so MPs simply amended their conspiracy theories to fit the new evidenceIt’s all as clear as mud. If Keir Starmer thought that releasing the three witness statements of the deputy national security adviser (DNSA) Matthew Collins late on Wednesday night was going to make the China spy case row go away, then he was in for a big disappointment.There was no way MPs were going to let a story like this out of their clutches. This was their moment to take centre stage. When t
  • ‘We are angry but resilient,’ Jewish leaders tell Manchester synagogue vigil

    Dozens of worshippers gather at sombre but defiant vigil a week after attack in which two men were killedDozens of worshippers have gathered at the Manchester synagogue that was attacked on Yom Kippur, vowing to show “resolve” and not be “cowed” by terrorism.Amid heavy security a week after the assault in which two men were killed, Jewish community leaders led prayers and speeches in a sombre but defiant 15-minute vigil. Continue reading...
  • Why has the UK dropped its trial of two alleged China spies?

    Prosecutor hinted at lack of backing from Downing Street but legal experts argue prosecution was still possibleAn extraordinary disclosure by Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, on Tuesday evening has triggered a political row over who was behind the sudden abandonment of a high-profile espionage case.Two Britons had been accused of acting as spies for China. One of them, Christopher Cash, was a parliamentary researcher for the Conservative backbencher Alicia Kearns, speciali
  • Manchester synagogue terrorist pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 999 call

    Police say Jihad al-Shamie made call to emergency services during attack that resulted in the deaths of two worshippersThe Manchester synagogue terrorist rang 999 during his deadly attack pledging allegiance to the terror group Islamic State, police have said.Jihad al-Shamie, 35, made the call claiming responsibility for the attack after driving his car at worshippers outside Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur last week. Continue reading...
  • Legal experts question reasoning behind CPS dropping China ‘spies’ case

    Ex-DPP Ken Macdonald says prosecutors may have been ‘over-fussy’ in seeking further assurances from governmentLegal experts have questioned the explanation given by the Crown Prosecution Service for its sudden decision to drop charges against two Britons accused of spying for China amid a political row over who was responsible.The expert lawyers expressed surprise that the CPS thought it needed further assurance from the government that China was an enemy insofar as it posed “a
  • I didn’t realise how much I loved my home town until a terrorist attacked it. I pray unity prevails there | Simon Hattenstone

    Last week’s attack on the synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, was also an assault on a model and diverse community. I hope they draw strength from each otherIt’s amazing how much of my life has been shaped by Crumpsall when I think about it. Which I hadn’t until last Thursday, and the horrific attack on the Heaton Park synagogue. Crumpsall is a small area of north Manchester, 1.2 sq miles with a population of 18,000. When I became seriously ill at the age of nine I was initiall
  • Neighbours of Manchester synagogue attacker say they reported concerns to police

    Exclusive: Concerns about apparently fanatical interest in Islam shown by Jihad al-Shamie’s family member were reported, Guardian toldNeighbours of the Manchester synagogue attacker reported concerns to police about a family member being “radicalised” and attempting to “preach” the Qur’an to local children, the Guardian has been told.Police have said Jihad al-Shamie, 35, did not appear to be known to counter-terrorism officials before he attacked a Heaton Park
  • China threatened to retaliate against UK over foreign influence rules

    Exclusive: Chinese officials warned that targeting its security apparatus would negatively affect relationsChina threatened to retaliate against the UK government if ministers targeted parts of its security apparatus under foreign influence rules, the Guardian can disclose.Chinese officials warned the Foreign Office that the move would have negative consequences for relations soon after the Guardian reported it was under consideration, according to two government sources with knowledge of the di
  • An academic was aghast when her partner was accused of IRA activity. After his trial, he confessed

    Mary Attenborough’s nightmare began when the police raided the flat she and Michael Gallagher shared, their memoir reveals, but their relationship prevailedWhen police thundered into their London home in 1996 and arrested Michael Gallagher on suspicion of IRA activity, MaryAttenborough was shocked and indignant.She was an English academic who wrote books on geophysical software and her Scottish partner was a former civil servant who helped homeless alcoholics. The idea of him as an IRA man
  • After Manchester, progressives should know this: Jewish people feel very alone. We need you to stand with us | Dave Rich

    There’ll be sympathy and heightened security, but in the 1960s when Jewish communities faced attack, there was also solidarity. We need that backYom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish year, a day of repentance, prayer, fasting; and now – for two Jewish families in Manchester – also a day of mourning. It is also, increasingly, a day when terrorists visit their local synagogue to murder the Jews inside.Six years ago, that terrorist was Stephan Balliet, a German neo-Nazi, and
  • In a time of hate and rancour, two Jews sought to pray – and were killed. Let Manchester be a turning point | Jonathan Freedland

    This was a horror but amid rising antisemitism, no one can say it was a surprise. There are lessons to learn, and that must start nowIt was the Jewish New Year last week, when the traditional greeting is shana tova: a good year. This time around, you’d often hear it in adapted form, as Jews wished each other something more modest: “A better year.” As if, given the times we live in, “good” would be too much to ask for; as if we ought to scale down expectations. It tu
  • ‘We are one community, this will not break us’: Manchester reacts to synagogue attack

    Residents come together to insist their diverse neighbourhood will stick togetherManchester synagogue attack: latest updates“These people are sent to divide us, but they won’t,” said Barry Moore, as he walked his dog near the site of the terror attack on Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester.On the gently sloping street where two people were killed and four seriously wounded, neighbours from different faiths pulled together. Continue reading...
  • Six minutes of terror: how Manchester synagogue attack unfolded

    Witnesses screamed ‘he’s got a bomb’ and ‘shoot him’ before suspect was killed by armed policeManchester synagogue attack: latest updatesWorshippers had arrived early for a special morning service at Heaton Park shul in north Manchester. It was Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and rabbi Daniel Walker was leading prayers in his long white robes. By 9.31am, they were stained with blood.As people made their way to the synagogue, they saw a small blac
  • MI5 and counter-terror police on heightened alert after synagogue attack

    Policing at Jewish places of worship to increase as officials investigate killer’s motivations and ties to othersManchester synagogue attack: latest updatesMI5 and counter-terrorism police will operate at a heightened state of alert in the coming weeks, reflecting concern that the Manchester synagogue attack may be followed by others during the period around the second anniversary of the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.Policing at synagogues across the country is to be increased. The L
  • Community leaders can help curb false claims online after attacks in UK, say researchers

    Analysis finds swift release of information helps to debunk inflammatory falsehoods on social media“Debunking” efforts involving police forces, community leaders and local councillors should be deployed to counter misinformation in the wake of serious incidents such as the Southport murders, according to a new analysis.Trust in the UK government and law enforcement is so low that attempts to curb online falsehoods need to be backed up by other sources, said experts at the Centre for
  • ‘I shouldn’t have to fight for answers’: David Amess’s daughter on the MP’s murder and her fury at his friends and colleagues

    ‘I shouldn’t have to fight for answers’: David Amess’s daughter on the MP’s murder and her fury at his friends and colleagues
    Almost four years on, Katie Amess thinks she will never recover from losing her father. And she isn’t convinced anything has been done to prevent future tragediesThe last time Katie Amess saw her dad, the Conservative MP Sir David Amess, he was dropping her at Heathrow for her flight home to Los Angeles. Usually, she would cry when they said goodbye, but this time neither were sad – they were both excited. In six weeks, Katie would be back for her wedding.“It was going to be in
  • UK ban on Palestine Action at odds with international law, says UN rights chief

    Volker Türk says the Home Office proscription restricts right to freedom of expression and peaceful assemblyThe UK government’s ban on Palestine Action limits the rights and freedoms of people in the UK and is at odds with international law, the UN human rights chief has said.Volker Türk, the UN human rights commissioner, said ministers’ decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation was “disproportionate and unnecessary” and called on them to rescind
  • UK ban on Palestine Action is an abuse of power, high court told

    Intelligence assessment before proscription found that vast majority of group’s activities were lawful, court hearsAn intelligence assessment before Palestine Action was banned under anti-terrorism laws found that the vast majority of its activities were lawful, a court has heard.Raza Husain KC, appearing for Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the group, said Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group on 5 July was “repugnant” and an “authoritarian and blatant abuse
  • Yvette Cooper to create new offence to cover non-terrorist planning of attacks

    Home secretary says criminal offence needs to be introduced to increase police powers after Southport attack A new criminal offence is to be introduced to “close the gap” between lone, violence-obsessed individuals with no particular ideology and terrorism suspects, the home secretary has said.Yvette Cooper said an offence that would give police the power to apprehend the former long before they acted was needed in the wake of the Southport attack last year. Terrorism suspects can be
  • Police may be trying to criminalise all Palestine protests. But we will march on | Letter

    Protesters will come out on Saturday despite chilling reports of police citing suspected support of a proscribed organisation as grounds for arrest, writes Lindsey GermanYour report that armed police threatened to arrest a protester for holding a Palestine flag, citing grounds that she might support a proscribed terror organisation (Report, 17 July), is truly chilling. It shows that the police are either completely ignorant of the law or – more likely – that they are using the proscr
  • Spies and SAS personnel among 100-plus Britons included in Afghan data leak

    Sources say leak included details of Britons who endorsed Afghan applications to be brought to UK after Taliban takeoverDetails of members of the SAS are among more than 100 Britons named in the database of 18,700 Afghans, the accidental leak of which by a defence official led to thousands being secretly relocated to the UK.Defence sources said the highly sensitive document contained names and email addresses belonging to people sponsoring or linked to some individual cases. Personal information
  • Galileo’s recantation and Palestine Action | Letter

    Rev Canon Dr Rob Kelsey on having to recant the truth, just like the 17th-century Italian polymathOwen Jones writes well about the “grotesque absurdity” of an 83-year-old priest being arrested while proclaiming her opposition to genocide and support for Palestine Action (This column does not express support for Palestine Action – here’s why, theguardian.com, 9 July).My MP sent me a long email explaining the government’s reasons for proscribing Palestine Action as a
  • Prevent scheme missed chances with Amess and Southport killers, report says

    Anderson report recommends potential large expansion of Prevent to include individuals with no fixed ideologyThe Prevent anti-terrorism scheme missed chances to protect the public from the attacker who assassinated the MP Sir David Amess, and from the youth who murdered three young girls at a Southport dance class, an official report has found.The report is by David Anderson, the interim independent reviewer of Prevent, the official scheme to spot potential terrorists and turn them away from vio
  • Children investigated over Russian and Iranian plots against UK, says police chief

    Teenagers suspected of being hired by criminals paid to carry out acts on behalf of states, it is understoodSchoolchildren have been arrested by detectives investigating Russian and Iranian plots against Britain, a police chief has said, as he warned hostile state aggression was rising and youngsters were at risk.Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism unit, said children in their “mid teens” had been investigated. It is understood they wer
  • Legacy Act halted investigations into 202 Troubles-related killings of British soldiers

    Labour set to point to repercussions of Tory Northern Ireland legislation as justification for repealing itInvestigations into the deaths of more than 200 British soldiers were halted by the Conservatives’ Northern Ireland Legacy Act, Labour will announce, as a justification for its intention to repeal the legislation.Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is expected to tell MPs on Monday afternoon that 202 live inquiries into the Troubles-related killings of members of the armed fo
  • UK may need new scheme to detect people obsessed with violence, report to say

    Exclusive: Report into Prevent criticises handling of Southport attacker and man who killed MP David AmessA new scheme to detect people who are obsessed with violence before they kill, such as the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana, should be considered by the government, an official report will say.The report into Prevent, the controversial programme intended to stop people from becoming terrorists, will also find repeated “failings” in the case of the man who went on to assassinate
  • Ella Baron on the Palestine Action ban – cartoon

    Continue reading...
  • ‘Serious blunder’ over Islamic State murder of Rochdale imam

    Public report into 2016 killing of imam Jalal Uddin points to two key opportunities missed by authoritiesA “serious blunder” led to missed opportunities to disrupt a plot by Islamic State extremists to murder an imam in Greater Manchester, a public inquiry has found.Jalal Uddin, 71, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a public park in Rochdale by Mohammed Kadir, then aged 24, because he practised a form of Islamic healing known as ruqyah that the terrorist group regarded as blas
  • Iran’s threat to UK on a par with Russia’s, security report finds

    Parliamentary committee says UK is priority target for cyber and physical attacks as well as assassinationsUK politics live – latest updatesIran’s intimidation, including the fear of physical attack and assassination of Iranian dissidents living in the UK, is comparable in scale to the threat posed by Russia, parliament’s intelligence and security committee has found.In a report published on Thursday, the committee (ISC) adds that the UK is a priority espionage target for Irani
  • This column does not express support for Palestine Action – here’s why | Owen Jones

    In Britain’s increasingly authoritarian society, any sort of protest can find itself at odds with the law. You might even go to jailThis piece must be carefully written to avoid my being imprisoned for up to 14 years. That’s a curious sentence to say as a newspaper columnist in Britain in 2025. But since the government voted to proscribe the direct action protest group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act, any statement seen as expressing support could lead to arrest and prosecut
  • Iraq war ‘made extremists of people’: ex-police terrorism chief looks back at 7/7

    Exclusive: Former Met officer Neil Basu says there is link between UK foreign policy and radicalisation, and atrocity did lasting damage to race relationsForeign policy was a driver behind the 7 July 2005 attacks on London , with the atrocity leaving a “soul-destroying” legacy of a rise in hate, a former head of counter-terrorism has said.Neil Basu said governments needed to accept that foreign policy, such as Britain’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war, could have a direct effect
  • Ban on Palestine Action to take effect after legal challenge fails

    Being a member of, or showing support for, the direct action protest group will be a criminal offence after judge’s decisionBeing a member of, or showing support for, Palestine Action will be a criminal offence from Saturday after a last-minute legal challenge to suspend the group’s proscription under anti-terrorism laws failed.A ban on Palestine Action, which uses direct action to mainly target Israeli weapons factories in the UK and their supply chain, was voted through by parliame
  • Ronald Appleton obituary

    Prosecutor in many of Northern Ireland’s most notable terrorism trials, including those of the Shankill Butchers and the La Mon House bombersAs the leading prosecutor in many notorious terrorist trials, Ronald Appleton’s list of cases from the savage years of Northern Ireland’s Troubles ensured he developed unparalleled experience in bringing those accused of politically inspired violence to justice.His high-profile hearings included cases against the IRA unit responsible for t
  • Minister demands overhaul of UK’s leading AI institute

    Peter Kyle calls for new leadership at Alan Turing Institute and greater focus on defence and national securityThe technology secretary has demanded an overhaul of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute in a wide-ranging letter that calls for a switch in focus to defence and national security, as well as leadership changes.Peter Kyle said it was clear further action was needed to ensure the government-backed Alan Turing Institute met its full potential. Continue reading...
  • UK spy agencies too slow to realise CIA was mistreating prisoners after 9/11, government admits

    Government acknowledges UK involvement in detention operations for first time in Guantánamo inmates caseThe UK government has admitted its intelligence agencies were “too slow” to realise the CIA was mistreating prisoners in its post-9/11 torture programme, acknowledging in court for the first time British involvement in the US agency’s notorious detention operations.The admission was made during a trial that concluded on Friday at the investigatory powers tribunal, whic
  • UK teenager who killed herself was ‘highly affected’ by terrorism arrest, inquest finds

    Rhianan Rudd died of ‘self-inflicted act’ after facing charges but coroner says failures in her case were ‘not systemic’A vulnerable teenage girl who died five months after terrorism charges against her were dropped was “highly affected” by her arrest but failures in her case were “not systemic”, a coroner has concluded.Rhianan Rudd died at a children’s home aged 16 in May 2022, as the result of a self-inflicted act, said the chief coroner of
  • Frederick Forsyth, Day of the Jackal author and former MI6 agent, dies aged 86

    Writer used his experience reporting on De Gaulle’s France to plot his thriller, and continued to draw on real-world research for subsequent bestsellers
    Frederick Forsyth, the author who turned his adventures as a journalist and work with MI6 into bestselling thrillers, has died after a brief illness aged 86.Forsyth brought a reporter’s eye to his fiction, transforming the thriller genre with a series of novels including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War. Com
  • Claims that UK spy agencies aided CIA torture after 9/11 to be heard in rare trial

    Cases filed by two Guantánamo Bay prisoners allege MI5 and MI6 were complicit in their mistreatmentThe UK government’s decades-long efforts to keep details of its intelligence agencies’ involvement in the CIA’s notorious post-9/11 torture programme hidden will face an “unprecedented” challenge this week as two cases are brought before a secretive court.The cases, filed by two prisoners held at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, will be heard acr
06 Dec 2025

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