Technology is driving an increase in attacks and threats to the UK, senior officials say
LONDON (AP) — Technology and online platforms are increasingly being used to threaten the United Kingdom, including by hostile countries, extremists and far-right groups, senior British police officials said Thursday.
There is a “continual battle” against threats online, said Vicki Evans, a senior national coordinator for counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police, and police need help from technology companies because “it’s not something we can do alone.”
Islamic extremism remains the biggest threat but over the past five years, threats from far-right groups and hostile states have significantly grown, said Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism police.
According to Evans, the threat from hostile states is the “most rapidly escalating mission” for counterterrorism police.
Threats from hostile countries are increasing
In July, two Romanian men were jailed over the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station, which the judge said was carried out on behalf of Iran’s government.
In June, a Ukrainian man and Romanian man were jailed for their role in setting fire to property linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — a plot which fits the description of Russian state-backed sabotage. And in May, a U.K. border official and former Hong Kong police officer were convicted of spying for China.
Evans said that in 2025, there were more than 20 Iranian-backed plots, including assassinations, kidnappings and other serious crimes against the U.K. Additionally, police are still investigating whether arson attacks against Jewish sites earlier in the year have a link to Iran.
Russia has been organizing a “constant stream of surveillance plots” against people and institutions in Britain, aiming to target people Russian officials believe are enemies, “infiltrate” ordinary life and identify people who will “peddle” Russian narratives or carry out proxy work on behalf of the Russian state, she added.
Across Europe, Russia has recruited dozens of people on apps like Telegram to carry out vandalism or set fires — including at a warehouse in London that stored communications equipment meant for Ukraine.
Dylan Earl, the ringleader of that plot, was recruited on Telegram by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization acting on behalf of Moscow that has been designated a terrorist group by the U.K. government.
Evans also said that teenagers as young as 15 have been arrested by police in relation to proxy plots. The challenge for law enforcement, she added, is that “anyone could be targeted,” especially online.
“This isn’t something that’s happening elsewhere,” Evans said, speaking to journalists at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police headquarters. “It’s happening here. This risk is in our neighborhoods, in our online spaces and in our workplaces.”
The threat of far-right extremism is rising
Taylor said that the threat level in the U.K. was raised in April from “substantial” to “severe,” partly because cases linked to extreme far right ideologies are “growing substantially.”
Police have noted an increase in “vile” content, particularly online, which creates a “cocktail of racism, misogyny and extreme homophobia,” he said.
Extreme views, he said, appear to be being challenged less and less and so conditions have been created where previously unacceptable views are now more prevalent.
As an example, he gave the case of an 18-year-old woman, Alina Burns, who was imprisoned for almost 20 years in May after attacking a stranger with an ax — an attack that Taylor said was motivated by her extreme right-wing mindset.
Children are increasingly radicalized online
Alfie Coleman — a 22-year-old sentenced on Wednesday for 13.5 years for trying to buy a gun from an undercover MI5 officer — was radicalized online from the age of 14, Taylor said.
Evans said that those behind the exploitation are specifically designing online content to attract young people by blending it with propaganda and gaming footage, historical images and music. The young are then prompted to carry out violent acts — such as being asked to “recreate” in real life horrific attacks from video games, she said.
In some cases, Evans said, “sadistic online groups,” ask people to compete against each other to cause harm online and offline — by using cyberattacks, extremism, serious violence or even child sexual abuse or terrorism.
The extent of “lawful but awful” content online, including extreme violence and gore, she said means that some people now have a skewed sense of what is normal or acceptable. Those people are particularly vulnerable to manipulation, including by state actors, she said.
Although the government has said that Britain will ban social media for those under 16, that is not enough, said Evans, adding that pressure needs to be put on technology companies to help curb harmful content online.
Laws and policies regulating harmful content online quickly go out of date while social platforms have powerful mechanisms to push content to young people, she said.
“The tipping point is very swift and steep,” for some people who are drawn into harmful content online, she said.
