Starmer says UK faces new threat and ‘terrorism has changed’ after Axel Rudakubana killing in Southport – latest

Here are some of the early reactions to Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on the Southport attacks.

The TimesChief reporter Fiona Hamilton said: “After covering numerous fatal terrorist attacks and attempted attacks involving young people radicalized online, and with the counter-terrorism police warning about this problem for more than a decade, I am amazed that the Prime Minister The Prime Minister described Southport as a “new threat”.

Other commentators have noted the challenge faced by both Sir Keir Starmer and his political opponents over claims of a lack of transparency about the Southport attacks.

Dan Hodges, w Mail on Sundaysaid: “I understand the conspiracy theorists are spreading their crazy Southport lines. This is their betrayal. But it is inexcusable that politicians – and even some journalists – who know exactly what restrictions are in place when serious cases are being tried, suddenly pretend not to know them.”

Former No 10 councilor Theo Bertram added: “The challenge for No 10 is that the answers (to Reform’s questions about Rudakabana) are complex. It is much easier for a critic to question or allude to a “cover-up” than it is for Starmer to explain the concepts of submission and restrictions on communication to the court.

“The risk (or temptation) for conservatives is to move away from responsible analysis of process and policy in favor of the ‘cover-up’ conspiracy theories fueled by the likes of Reform and Tommy Robinson.”

In his address to the nation, Sir Keir Starmer introduced Sir David Anderson KC as Prevent’s new independent commissioner.

The Prime Minister said the new commissioner would “bring this system to account” and “shine a light on its darkest corners so that the British people can be confident that words are followed by action”.

Sir David is a barrister who worked as an independent government reviewer of counter-terrorism legislation between 2011 and 2017. The following year he was appointed a peer in the House of Lords and received a KBE for services to national security and civil liberties.

He was also an adviser to the Commission on Countering Extremism, set up by Theresa May after the Manchester Arena attacks.

asked Daily Mail whether he personally considers the Southport attacks to be terrorism and whether extra protection may be needed in schools and youth clubs, Sir Keir said: “That is a really central question.

“This is extreme violence, clearly aimed at terror. And my concern is that because it’s different from the behavior that we associate with terrorism… it’s a new and different threat – it doesn’t fit as well in our framework… and that’s what we have to change. This is an urgent issue that needs to be resolved.”

The Prime Minister added: “I think this is new – you’ve seen versions of this in America with some of the mass shootings in schools. This is not an isolated terrible example, in my opinion, it is an example of another threat.

“And that’s why I’m so determined that we rise to this challenge and make sure that our law, our response is effective, appropriate and capable of dealing with this kind of threat.

“But that’s my concern and I think it’s a new threat – individualized, extreme violence, obsessive, often following online viewing of material from all kinds of different sources. This is not a one-time incident. This is something we all need to understand and have a common cause in our society.

“It’s not just terrorism laws, it’s also laws about what we can access online. There are still rules in this country about what we can watch in the cinema, but on the internet you can access endless material. We must be confident that we can take on this new challenge.”

Asked by GB News if he regretted blaming the far-right for the summer “protests”, Sir Keir said: “The responsibility for the violence lies with those who perpetrated it.

“I was in Southport the day after these horrific murders.

“I acknowledged and thanked the police officers on the front line and the ambulance (workers) who were at the scene. You can imagine what they went through. The next day they went back to work … I could see in their eyes the impact it had on them, what they had to deal with, what they had to see.”

He added: “When I got back to London the same officers were putting on their gear and throwing bricks at them… I don’t think anyone can justify that and they shouldn’t try to.”

Sir Keir Starmer insisted an inquiry was needed to ensure “no stone was left unturned”.

Asked by the BBC whether he needed a public inquiry to tell him the system had to change and whether such a delay meant other cases could be missed, Sir Keir said: “I think we need a public inquiry to answer all questions that the families, people of Southport and the country have.’

“To make sure no stone is left unturned and every failure is addressed.”

He added that the inquiry was also needed because Britain was dealing with a new threat of individual extreme violence and had to have laws to deal with it. However, the Government should not wait for the investigation to be completed to start making these changes, Sir Keir said.

“That is why there has already been a review of what happened with Prevent and the conclusions and lessons from that, so that the mistakes that were made then are not made today. This is really important to reassure the public, and that’s why we appointed the commissioner,” said the Prime Minister.

Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at claims he withheld information about the Southport killer, saying “the only losers if the details were revealed would be the victims and their families”.

The prime minister has come under fire for not revealing that Axel Rudakubana was known to the authorities before the attacks, with critics accusing him of a “cover-up”.

And he said that the trial of the murderer would have failed if he had made public what he knew about Rudakubana.

“The only losers if the details were revealed would be the victims and their families because of the risk of the legal process failing. I will never do that. I will never do it because they deserve justice.”

There are also questions about the accountability of the Whitehall and Westminster system, Sir Keir Starmer said, calling it “a system that is too often driven by institutional wagons”.

He added that it too often does not act until justice is hard-fought by campaigners or until terrible tragedies such as Southport finally prompt action.

“Again and again we see this pattern, and people are right to be angry about it,” the prime minister said.

“Nothing will be considered in this investigation – nothing. And most importantly, it will lead to change.”

Apathy has become the oxygen of a wider conspiracy, he warned, adding: “I want to put it on record that yesterday’s conviction only came about because hundreds, if not thousands, of dedicated public servants, many of whom have lived through absolutely appalling circumstances, have worked on it.”

The prime minister continued: “But I am under no illusions that until the state shows the country what it can change – not just what it provides for people, but also its culture – there will be an atmosphere of mistrust.”

Sir Keir Starmer announced a review of “the whole counter-extremism system to make sure we have what we need to defeat it” as he introduced Sir David Anderson KC as Prevent’s new independent commissioner.

Sir David will “bring this system to account” and “shine a light on its darkest corners so that the British people can be confident that words are followed by action”, Sir Keir said.

But there are further questions about how to protect children from the “tidal wave of violence” online, he said, adding: “Because you can’t tell me that the material that this person viewed before committing these murders should be available on social media platforms. .”