White far-right extremists arrested on terror offences rises to highest number in 15 years Figures released by the Home Office show that 41 per cent of suspects arrested on counter-terrorism operations last year were white

The far-right poses a growing threat to security in the UK with white extremists making up an increasing share of terror related arrests.

Figures released by the Home Office show that 41 per cent of suspects arrested on counter-terrorism operations last year were white – the highest number since March 2004.

Black suspects made up 11.9 per cent of arrests, up marginally from 9.9 per cent the year before, while the proportion of Asian suspects dropped to 32.6 per cent of those arrested between 2018 – 2019, down from 40.6 per cent 12 months previously.

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The data also revealed an increase in the number of arrests for suspects with extreme right-wing ideologies. In the year to March 2019, 33 individuals were arrested, up from 29 the previous year.

Islamic extremists, however, still made up the highest number of arrests for terror-related offences, with 178 taken in for questioning last year, down from 186 the year before.

‘A growing threat’

Speaking to The Independent, counter-terrorism expert Raffaello Pantucci said the rise of the far-right “has been identified consistently” by security officials to represent a “growing threat in the UK”.



Mr Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, added that white extremism has become “an organised threat with tentacles reaching out across Europe.”

“This comes in the form of a broader European context where the political mainstream discourse around questions of immigration and Muslim communities has been consistently dragged to the right, meaning previously less acceptable narratives are getting brought more into the mainstream,” he said.

“Brexit has also fed this, given the undertone of anti-immigrant narrative that has fed parts of the debate.

“The point is that as we have seen this all move into the mainstream, we are increasingly seeing the extreme right wing feel more empowered across Europe, something that has made the threat more menacing.”

Arrests down overall

The overall number of arrests for terror-related offences has dropped by a significant 40 per cent.



It followed a surge in the wake of the Manchester and London attacks in 2018.

In the last year, 268 arrests were made, down from 443 the previous year, which was the highest since Home Office records began.

Only 90 arrests of the 268 resulted in criminal charges. Some 69 people were released without any charged at all.

Of those charged, 32 have been prosecuted.