Evening Standard comment: Spy chief’s terror warning poses questions for us all; Keep footballers safe

2 May 2019
WEST END FINAL

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Today's warning by Andrew Parker, the director general of MI5, in his article about the severity of the terrorist threat facing this country, is an important reminder that any pleasure over the collapse of the loathsome Islamic State tyranny in Syria should not be accompanied with false hope that the risk of further barbarity elsewhere has diminished.

Indeed, Mr Parker, who with his staff has performed with impressive vigour in trying to protect the public over recent years, makes clear that most of the threat in this country comes not from returning foreign fighters or extremists directed from abroad, but from those who have simply been inflamed by IS propaganda online without ever having any direct contact with members of the terror group overseas.

This raises important questions.

The first is about the continuing tension between online privacy and the use of methods such as encryption and the ability of the intelligence agencies to find crucial evidence that, as Mr Parker says, is currently increasingly likely to remain “buried” on the internet.

MI5 and Britain’s other intelligence agencies are, of course, doing their best to penetrate this morass of data.

But despite their formidable abilities, the extent of their success will ultimately depend on how much co-operation they receive from the tech giants and on the legal frameworks applied in different countries to govern the access to online material.

Put simply, businesses, politicians and the public must decide how much potential intrusion they are willing to accept and whether they are prepared or not to accept terrorist attacks as the price of internet privacy.

We don’t think they will.

Communities

At the same time, the necessity of improved work with communities to prevent radicalisation is also brought into focus by Mr Parker’s article, which is the first he has written alone for any newspaper during his six years as Britain’s domestic spy chief.

If most aspiring terrorists never travel, as Mr Parker points out, but are radicalised online at home, it is imperative that those around them are alert to potential signs and, critically, prepared to tell the authorities. Others’ lives depend on such help.

The unfairly criticised Prevent strategy, which is currently being reviewed, must also be retained, even if in amended form, to ensure that teachers, university lecturers, health workers and others pass on any concerns that they might have about potential extremists.

As with internet data, the responsibility lies with us all.

The other key messages to take from Mr Parker’s article are that increased action is needed to tackle the escalating threat of the far Right — which he says has been rising for the past three years — and the importance of continued and deepening European co-operation on top of our existing strong intelligence relationship with the US and the other “Five Eyes” nations.

This exposes the futility of Brexit. Such co-operation is vital, not just to save lives abroad but also to prevent deaths here.

In our increasingly interconnected world, in which people and data travel freely and networks cross boundaries, safety must be a joint endeavour that political wrangling should never obstruct.

Politicians and the public must listen carefully to what Mr Parker is saying and respond.

In the meantime, we wish him and all his colleagues in the security world, both here and abroad, every success in their commendable efforts to keep us safe.

Keep footballers safe

Football must remember, when considering how it handles incidents of possible concussion, that such injuries can be life-threatening.

The sight of Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen attempting to play on after a clash of heads during last night’s match against Ajax was another warning.

Vertonghen underwent medical tests before he was allowed to continue but moments later, the Belgian stopped and looked on the brink of collapse.

There remains a lack of investment in research linking head injuries to dementia and other mental health concerns.

But one thing is obvious — player welfare must take precedence whatever the sporting stakes.

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