Domestic Extremism - Revision history

Peter Salmon at 13:16, 17 August 2019

2019-08-17T13:16:23Z

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Eveline at 11:04, 15 June 2018

2018-06-15T11:04:32Z

Peter Salmon at 10:21, 5 September 2015

2015-09-05T10:21:27Z

Peter Salmon: Created page with "{{URG_article}} '''Domestic Extremism''' is a police term which seeks to categorise a particular kind of political activity. The term is often used to distinguish so-called s..."

2015-02-04T23:23:57Z

Created page with "{{URG_article}} '''Domestic Extremism''' is a police term which seeks to categorise a particular kind of political activity. The term is often used to distinguish so-called s..."

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 The broader remit also shows in the work of the exposed undercover agent. They all focused on environmental, anarchist and summit protests groups.
-The G8 protest at Gleneagles in 2008 (and in particular the Eco-Village ('Hori-zone') at Stirling) saw many thousands of protestors from across the left converge together, from environmentalists to anarchists. Spying on it was NPOIU agent [[Mark Kennedy]], whose material was apparently making its way to the desk of Prime Minister Tony Blair.<ref>Caroline Graham, [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1347478/Mark-Kennedy-Undercover-policeman-tells-story-8-years-eco-warriors.html
+The G8 protest at Gleneagles in 2008 (and in particular the Eco-Village ('Hori-zone') at Stirling) saw many thousands of protestors from across the left converge together, from environmentalists to anarchists. Spying on it was NPOIU agent [[Mark Kennedy]], whose material was apparently making its way to the desk of Prime Minister Tony Blair.<ref>Caroline Graham, [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1347478/Mark-Kennedy-Undercover-policeman-tells-story-8-years-eco-warriors.html'I'm the victim of smears': Undercover policeman denies bedding a string of women during his eight years with eco-warriors], ''Mail Online'', 17 January 2015, accessed 31 January 2015.</ref> The Eco-village was the model for the 2006 Camp for Climate Action at Drax in East Yorkshire, which had also been infiltrated by Kennedy and another spy [[Lynn_Watson (alias) | Lynn Watson]]. Internal police documents seen by ''Guardian'' journalists, show that the Camp, from the policing perspective, was pivotal as it was 'the first time domestic extremism took place against national infrastructure in the county'.<ref name="guardian.25.10.2009">Rob Evans, Paul Lewis &amp; Matthew Taylor, [http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/oct/25/police-surveillance-protest-domestic-extremism How police rebranded lawful protest as 'domestic extremism'], ''The Guardian'', 25 October 2009, accessed 5 September 2014.</ref> It would be followed in 2007 by the even higher profile Camp at Heathrow airport.
 In October 2009, in an article entitled "How police rebranded lawful protest as 'domestic extremism'", ''the Guardian'' wrote that the term domestic extremism was now common currency within the police.<ref name="guardian.25.10.2009" /> It has remained in use since, particularly in the latest re-incarnation of the spying unit as the [[National Domestic Extremism Unit | National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit]].

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 The MI5 website in 2014 makes an effort to distinguish between 'public order' issues (handled by the police) and threats to 'national security' (the remit of MI5). The mention of Northern Ireland shows the fine line between what is considered 'domestic extremism' and what as 'terrorism':<ref>[https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/the-threats/terrorism/domestic-extremism.html Domestic Extremism], ''MI5.gov.uk'', accessed 19 June 2014.</ref>
 :: Domestic extremism mainly refers to individuals or groups that carry out criminal acts of direct action in pursuit of a campaign. They usually aim to prevent something from happening or to change legislation or domestic policy, but try to do so outside of the normal democratic process. They are motivated by domestic causes other than the dispute over Northern Ireland’s status.<br />At various times in the recent past, a range of groups have fallen into this category. They have included violent Scottish and Welsh nationalists, right- and left-wing extremists, animal rights extremists and other militant single-issue protesters....<br />For the most part the actions of domestic extremists pose a threat to public order, but not to national security. They are normally investigated by the police, not the Security Service.
 ==Criticism==