Record high for number of far-right terrorist prisoners

New figures show that the number of far-right prisoners convicted for terror offences in Great Britain climbed by a third last year to their highest recorded level.

Accounting for more than one in six of all terrorists held in prison, the Home Office data shows that 44 prisoners considered ‘extreme rightwing’ were in custody for terror offences across Great Britain, up from 33 a year ago. Three years ago, the figure was nine and no higher than five before that.

Islamist extremists still form the largest category of terror prisoners, but at 183 last year the overall number has remained roughly flat since 2018 – meaning the proportion of far-right terror prisoners has risen to a record 18 per cent.

Fresh from the recent counter-demonstrations in Westminster, following the Black Lives Matter campaigning, the Labour Party said the disclosure underlined the ‘dangerous threat’ posed by the far right. Shadow Security Minister Conor McGinn said it was time for a ‘comprehensive, focused strategy’.

Joe Mulhall, from Hope Not Hate, said: “This could represent a new chapter where the far right focuses on black communities, on immigrants and on crime as they did before 9/11. But what’s different this time is that it is so much easier for young people to access far-right terrorist material online through social media channels such as Telegram – and follow coverage of attacks that take place around the world.”