Country Reports on Terrorism 2015 - United Kingdom

Overview: In 2015, the UK significantly increased its efforts to fight terrorism at home and abroad. The UK expanded its military efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to include airstrikes in Syria. Following ISIL attacks on tourists in Tunisia and Egypt, the UK increased efforts to enhance the counterterrorism capabilities of partner nations. Domestically, Prime Minister Cameron launched a new counter-extremism strategy and introduced legislation to revamp his government's electronic surveillance collection. UK law enforcement agencies announced that they prevented seven terrorist attacks during 2015, illustrating the continued threat posed by both international and homegrown "lone offender" terrorism.

The threat level in Northern Ireland from Northern Ireland-related terrorism remained severe on the UK's threat scale. In October, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland published an assessment of paramilitary groups. The report indicated that the most serious terrorist threat is posed by dissident republican groups who oppose the peace process. Dissident republicans continued to target police officers primarily, but prison officers and members of the armed forces have also been targeted. The Northern Ireland Executive is developing a strategy to disband paramilitary groups and establish a monitoring and implementation body to end para-militarism. Tension and in-fighting within republican and loyalist organizations persisted.

Following ISIL's simultaneous terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, British air strikes were extended beyond Iraq into Syria. The UK also plays a key role in coordinating the strategic communications lines of effort within the Counter-ISIL Coalition and participates actively in the Coalition's Foreign Terrorist Fighter Working Group.

2015 Terrorist Incidents: In 2015, the UK government reported preventing seven ISIL-inspired or directed attacks in the UK. The majority of domestic terrorist attacks occurred in Northern Ireland. As of December, the UK's Northern Ireland Office recorded 16 national security attacks by dissident republicans.

• On May 4, police discovered two cylinder-type bombs near an Army Reserve center in Derry/Londonderry. The Police Service of Northern Ireland believed dissident republicans placed the devices.

• In May and July, two radio-controlled explosive devices were deployed in Belfast and Lurgan in an attempt to target security force personnel.

• In June, an under-vehicle IED was deployed against two off-duty police officers in County Londonderry.

• On June 26, a Tunisian gunman killed 38 people, including 30 British citizens, at a beach resort near Sousse, Tunisia. Although it occurred outside of the UK, the Sousse attack was the most significant terrorist attack against UK citizens in 2015.

• In August, an explosive device initiated inside a postal van while it was parked in Palace Barracks in County Down.

• In October, a viable IED was recovered from the grounds of a Derry/Londonderry hotel that was due to host a police recruitment event, and several days later an under-vehicle device was planted in Belfast.

• On December 5, a British citizen stabbed two commuters in an east London Tube station. During the attack, the perpetrator yelled "This is for Syria, my Muslim brothers." Police apprehended the suspect, who was facing trial on murder charges at year's end.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: UK counterterrorism efforts enjoyed the support of a broad statutory foundation. UK law enforcement officials continued to make use of reinforced counterterrorism legislation permitting the government to surveil, interdict, and control the movements of suspected terrorists. In November, the government delivered to Parliament a draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill, which will reframe the statutory basis for the collection of electronic communications, including bulk data, by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The draft bill increases oversight mechanisms while expanding the investigative tools available to UK authorities.

The Metropolitan (Met) police lead the UK's national counterterrorism law enforcement effort. The Met's Counter Terrorism Command operates against the threat of terrorism at a local, national, and international level and supports the national Counter Terrorism Network and the Senior National Coordinator of Counter Terrorism. The Met works closely with other UK police constabularies, MI5, and other agencies in all matters related to terrorism, to include investigation, prosecution, prevention, and protection. UK counterterrorism agencies conducted advanced international investigations, managed crisis response, and provided border security.

The UK is committed to implementing fully UN Security Council Resolutions 2170, 2178, and 2199, and is an important partner in urging other nations to do the same, especially within the EU. The UK issues machine readable passports with an imbedded electronic chip. The last non-electronic passports issued by the UK in 2006 will age out in early 2016. UK travel documents and visas contain a number of security features to prevent tampering and fraud. The UK has advanced biometric screening capabilities at some points of entry, but at others, such as ferry ports, there is no screening at all. The UK requires international airlines to collect Advance Passenger Information and pressured the EU to collect intra-Schengen Passenger Name Record data.

The U.S. and UK law enforcement communities have excellent information sharing and collaboration in the counterterrorism realm. Several UK and U.S. law enforcement agencies embed personnel in each other's organizations to improve communication, information sharing, and joint response. U.S. law enforcement agencies routinely coordinate their investigations with their UK counterparts, resulting in numerous arrests and convictions.

In Northern Ireland, the Crime Operations Department is responsible for conducting terrorism investigations and works closely with MI5 and An Garda Síochána (Ireland's police force) on a range of issues. The Police Service of Northern Ireland reported an increase in bombing incidents and paramilitary style assaults in 2015, but a decrease in terrorism-related arrests, shooting incidents, and confiscation of explosives and firearms. Major 2015 law enforcement actions in Northern Ireland included:

• As part of an investigation into dissident republican activity in September, police confiscated more than half a kilogram of Semtex explosives, two handguns, more than 200 rounds of ammunition and two detonators in west Belfast. This led to the arrest of an individual in England days later in connection with terrorism offenses.

• In October, police conducted a series of separate arrests of individuals allegedly involved in dissident republican terrorism.

The United States and UK cooperated closely in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution of suspected terrorists. In 2015, the UK continued to assist with several U.S. terrorism prosecutions.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The UK is an active member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and has observer or cooperating status in five regional bodies: the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism; Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group; Caribbean Financial Action Task Force; Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering; and Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force. New counterterrorism finance legislation in the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 amended the Terrorism Act 2000 to make it an offense for an insurer to reimburse a kidnap or ransom payment made in response to a demand made wholly or partly for the purposes of terrorism. The Charities and Social Investment Bill, which will enable the Charity Commission to more effectively deal with abuse of the charitable sector – including for terrorist and violent extremist purposes – was before Parliament at year's end.

The UK prosecutes those involved in terrorism finance. Since 2001, 49 individuals have been charged under sections 15-19 of the Terrorism Act 2000 ('fundraising'); of these, 21 individuals were convicted. In the period between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, three individuals were convicted where the principal charge was funding terrorism. Additionally, individuals suspected of funding terrorism were convicted of related offenses (fraud, money laundering, etc.). The UK electronically distributes a consolidated list of all UK designated terrorists and terrorist entities (to include UN targets, EU targets, and UK domestic targets under TAFA) to 16,000 subscribers, mainly in the UK and its overseas territories.

The UK freezes assets in accordance with UNSCR 1373 and the UN 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime. Like other members of the EU, the UK currently implements UN listings by way of EU Regulation, which involves a delay between UN adoption and listings taking legal effect. Asset freezes under UN obligations are made as soon as corresponding EU regulations come into force. If aware of assets held in the UK, the government proactively notifies financial institutions, to compensate for any delay in legal effect of the UN decision. While work is underway by the European Commission to streamline that process and speed up implementation, the UK government has decided to bring forward domestic legislation to bridge the gap. On December 17, 2015, the UK announced that it would legislate to remove the delay between the adoption of UN sanctions decisions and their implementation in the UK. This would apply to both existing and new UN regimes, and would mean that designations will take legal effect in the UK immediately following UN adoption. For domestic asset freezes under UNSCR 1373, action is taken immediately. As of September 2015, the UK held approximately US $151,290 in frozen assets: US $59,003 under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act 2010, US $16,642 under the EU terrorist asset freezing regime, and US $75,645 related to the UN 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime. Her Majesty's Treasury licenses funds to individuals subject to asset freezes for daily living expenses and legal costs; therefore the amount frozen fluctuates over time.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regulates money transfer and remittance services. HMRC requires remitters to understand to whom they are sending money, and collect originator and recipient information. UK charities have a duty to report suspicions or beliefs of terrorism financing offenses under section 19 of the Terrorism Act 2000; it is an offense to fail to make such a report. Such reports are filed directly with the police or with the National Crime Agency. Charities with an annual income of US $40,500 per year are obliged to file with the Charity Commission serious incident reports of fraud, theft, or other criminal behavior to include support for proscribed organizations or individuals. Charities with annual income under US $40,500 per year "should" report such incidents to the Commission, but failure to do so does not result in a criminal offense. This is separate from the legal requirement to make a report under section 19 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Countering Violent Extremism: The UK continued to be an important partner in the effort to counter violent extremism. In October 2015, the UK announced a new domestic strategy to counter extremist ideologies in all of their forms as well as violent extremism. The strategy provides an official definition of extremism as "the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs." Through the strategy, the UK government seeks to combat all forms of extremism and not just violent extremism. The strategy laid out a four-fold approach to countering extremism: countering extremist ideology; building partnerships with civil society; disrupting extremists; and building more cohesive communities. The UK government also announced US $7 million in new funding to provide direct and in-kind practical support to domestic counter-extremist groups to expand the reach and scale of their counter-messaging efforts.

International and Regional Cooperation: The UK robustly supported counterterrorism efforts in regional and multilateral organizations in 2015. In response to terrorist attacks targeting Western tourists in North Africa, such as in Tunisia, the UK expanded its protective and aviation capacity building efforts in third countries through regional and multilateral organizations. The UK led the call for an EU Directive on Passenger Name Record information for people travelling within the Schengen Area. In addition, the UK exercised leadership in the EU to amend the EU Firearms Directive, resulting in the tightening of controls on the acquisition and possession of firearms. The UK also supported stronger external border controls through the better use of information sharing and border checks. In April, the UK adopted the Schengen Information System, which facilitates cooperation among European law enforcement, immigration, and border control agencies. In September, Prime Minister Cameron and Home Secretary May spoke on counterterrorism and CVE at the UN. The UK is a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum and along with the United Arab Emirates, co-chaired the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group. It is also a founding member of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law and seconded a law enforcement advisor to the Institute who helped develop and deliver counterterrorism-related trainings for police officers.