Counter-Terrorism Portal

Welcome to the Counter-Terrorism Portal on Powerbase

Counter-Terrorism Portal editors: Rizwaan Sabir and David Miller. SEE OUR A-Z LIST OF COUNTER-TERRORISM ARTICLES Since the attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, the British government has established and put in place a series of policies and strategies aimed at countering the threat of Islamic inspired terrorism. Whilst most policies have been introduced for this purpose alone, some have also been implemented under the guise of countering terrorism and have undermined and eroded civil liberties such as the right to protest and the right to privacy. This portal therefore aims to provide academics, analysts, practitioners, students and all other interested parties with alternative, up-to-date and rigorous information on British counter-terrorism policies, strategies and practices. Special focus is given not only to the work done by governmental organisations and departments, but also by academics, think tanks, voluntary organisations, Islamic organisations and Islamic charities on issues surrounding counter-terrorism, especially the Prevent strand of Contest 2. The Counter-Terrorism Portal is closely related to Powerbase's portals on the Israel Lobby, Neoconservatives, Northern Ireland, Propaganda, Spooks and Terror Expertise. Powerbase has a policy of strict referencing and is overseen by an Managing editor and an Editor. This article is part of the Counter-Terrorism Portal project of Spinwatch. Priority pages on Counter-Terrorism Anti-Terror Poster Campaign Groups in receipt of PREVENT Funding CONTEST Counter-Terrorism Timeline Minaj-ul-Quran PREVENT PREVENT Funding List of Major Counter-Terrorism Operations and Incidents Operation Rich Picture Quilliam Foundation Research, Information and Communications Unit Scottish Preventing Violent Extremism Unit Terrorism Act 2000 Terrorism Act 2006 UK Counter-Terrorism: An Overview The UK has a long history of dealing with domestic terrorism, most notably due to its experience of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The threat to British national security during the Troubles was posed by Republican paramilitary organisations, most notably by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its affiliates. In the 1970s, when the Troubles spilled onto the British mainland, the UK enacted a series of counterterrorism measures, such as Internment, the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act (1973-96) and the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (1974-2000). After various attempts at bringing peace had failed, the the Good Friday Agreement was finally signed in April 1998 and ended the Troubles. The current threat from Irish paramilitary organisations is limited to a small number of Republican splinter groups, such as the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA). When the Prevention of Terrorism Act expired in 2000, according to Clive Walker – “its replacement became an acute issue”. As a consequence, it was replaced by a permanent act – TheTerrorism Act 2000, which became the “bedrock” of the anti-terror legislation for the UK. In direct response to the events of 9/11, a series of other legislations were also enacted by the UK government, such as the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 , the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008. The objective behind the enactments of these legislations was to ensure that the UK was protected from events, such as 9/11 unfolding on its territory. In 2003, the government initiated a four pronged counter-terrorism strategy known as Contest (2003-09). It’s ultimate objective was to "reduce the risk from international terrorism, so that people could go about their daily lives freely and with confidence." After the attacks of 7 July, 2005 however, the government felt that it had to do more to prevent people from turning towards terrorism and therefore, in 2009, replaced Contest with Contest 2, which was similar to Contest, but more focused on Preventing Violent Extremism. At present, there are numerous community led projects and organisational initiatives focusing on Prevent. UK Gov't Counter-Terrorism Organisations Security Service (MI5) | Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6) | GCHQ | Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre | RICU | Scottish Preventing Violent Extremism Unit |Muslim Contact Unit | Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command | Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism Think Tanks involved in Counter-Terrorism Centre for Social Cohesion | Centre for Defence and International Security | CSTPV | Chatham House | European Council on Foreign Relations | Institute for Public Policy Research | Institute for Strategic Dialogue | Institute of Race Relations | Oxford Research Group | Policy Exchange | RAND (Europe) | Royal United Services Institute | The Social Affairs Unit | Muslim/Islamic Organisations involved in Counter-Terrorism Al Manaar | Amal Trust | An Nisa Society | Association of Muslim Lawyers | Forum Against Islamaphobia & Racism | Islamic Human Rights Commission | MPACUK | Muslim Association of Britain | Active Change Foundation | Counter-Terrorism Legislation Terrorism Act 2000 | Anti-Terrorism Crime & Security Act 2001 | The Criminal Justice Act 2003 | The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 | Terrorism Act 2006 | Counter-Terrorism Act 2008| Categories All pages associated with the Counter-Terrorism Portal are listed here. There are also a number of distinct sub-categories listed below. You can click on any of these links to display an A-Z list of all pages in that category. Counter-Terrorism: Government organisations Counter-Terrorism: Parliamentary organisations Counter-Terrorism: Voluntary organisations Counter-Terrorism: Civil servants Counter-Terrorism: Politicans Counter-Terrorism: Voluntary sector people Counter-Terrorism: Policing organisations Counter-Terrorism: Intelligence Organisations Counter-Terrorism: Intelligence personnel Counter-Terrorism: Police personnel Counter-Terrorism: Media organisations Counter-Terrorism: Journalists Terrorism government advisory bodies Terrorism Journal Recommended Reading Steve Hewitt (2007) The British War on Terror: Terrorism and Counterterrorism on the Home Front since 9-11 [Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd] Liz Fekete (2009) A Suitable Enemy: Racism, Migration and Islamaphobia in Europe [Pluto Press] References and Resources Getting Started Looking for somewhere to start? 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