Ministers should not ‘criminalise thought’

Max Hill QC has warned that plans to prosecute people who view extremist content online should be wary of criminalising thought.

Speaking to human rights group Justice, the terror watchdog emphasised how ‘thought without action’ was not an act of terrorism, and to treat it as such would be a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ and wrong.

He said: “Whilst we can all agree that there should be nowhere for real terrorists to hide, we should also agree that legislating in the name of terrorism when the targeted activity is not actually terrorism would be quite wrong. We do not, and should not criminalise thought without action or preparation for action. Thought with steps towards action can be terrorism. Thought without action or preparation for action may be extremism, but it is not terrorism.”

In her attempts to send a ‘clear message’ to those who view or share on extremist content online, Home Secretary Amber Rudd had recently revealed plans to increase jail terms for those found guilty to 15 years.

In his lecture, ‘Rights vs Security: the challenge engaged’, Hill also said that ‘sentencing must fit the offence, but it must also be flexible according to the characteristics of the offender’.