UK terror arrests rise to record 400 in year as white suspects increase by 77%

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/uk-terror-arrests-rise-400-manchester-arena-attack-london-bridge-finsbury-park-parsons-green-a8096481.html

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The number of white people arrested on suspicion of terrorism has risen dramatically as the total hits a new annual high, statistics show.

The Home Office said 400 suspects were detained and more than 850 searched under the Terrorist Act in the year to 30 September.

Police arrested 12 people in connection with the Westminster attack, 23 in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing, 21 related to the London Bridge attack, one following Finsbury Park and seven linked to the Parsons Green bombing.

The perpetrators of the Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge attacks died while carrying out the atrocities and none of those arrested have been charged.

The brother of Manchester bomber Salman Abedi could be prosecuted if he is returned to the UK from Libya but his extradition has been repeatedly delayed.

Around 15 per cent of those detained were women and girls – the highest proportion on record – and the number of arrests across all age and ethnic groups increased.

The largest rise was seen for suspects of “white ethnic appearance”, the Home Office said, with the number of arrests rising by 77 per cent since the previous year, making up 36 per cent of the total.

The spike may partly be accounted for by crackdowns on the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action, which has several alleged members due in court.

Among them are British soldiers accused of joining the banned organisation and a man who allegedly plotted to murder a Labour MP with a machete.

The biggest ethnic group among terror suspects was Asian, standing at 44 per cent in the same period.

Of those arrested in the year, 69 per cent considered themselves to be of British or dual nationality.

Under a third were prosecuted for committing a crime and more than a half were released without charge, with others freed on bail or facing alternative action.

A total of 78 terrorism trials saw just nine people acquitted and almost 90 per cent convicted.

There were 213 terrorists in custody – a quarter up on the previous year – with the vast majority holding Islamist extremist views, followed by the far-right and others.