Tory record on terrorism ‘very weak, deeply worrying,’ security expert tells RT
The Tories’ “very weak” record on terrorism can be partly blamed on policies introduced by Theresa May when she was home secretary, a former Home Office counterterrorism officer told RT.
Jahan Mahmood says authorities have “not really progressed” their counterterrorism strategy in recent years. He says engagement programs like ‘Prevent’ have clearly failed.
The fact that three terrorist incidents have happened in three months under May’s tenure as prime minister is “deeply worrying,” he added.
“The Tory record at this moment is very weak. I know that I certainly don’t feel safe under the current record. The fact that the home secretary has now become the prime minister, and partly her policies are to blame.
“I think it’s highly disappointing if they used a security issue to try and win votes when they’ve failed so miserably. How are they going to get things right in the run-up to the election when they’ve got it so wrong in the last few years?”
Mahmood says the media, government, tech companies and religious leaders need to come together to pump out a consistent and solid message.
“The solution is getting the strategy right. And it’s not been right – it’s failing.
“The fact that they are deploying soldiers on the ground is a clear marker... that explains that we haven’t done very well with our strategy.”
Mahmood says a strong, robust deconstruction of ideology and its motivators is needed. He says the government must also get the right experts on board with their strategies.
His comments come after a terrorist attack in London on Saturday night.
Seven people were killed and 48 injured when three terrorists wearing fake suicide bomb vests used a rental van to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night. They then went on a knife rampage in Borough Market, stabbing victims with 12in blades.
Eighteen people are still in a critical condition.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also been accused of being “soft on terrorism.”
Corbyn was recently criticized for saying British foreign policy was one of the reasons behind the terror attacks such as the Manchester suicide bombing two weeks ago.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon hit back by saying he was “implying that a terrorist attack in Manchester is somehow our fault, is somehow Britain’s fault.”
Fallon added: “This is a man, by the way, who has opposed every piece of terrorist legislation, who thinks we should talk to terrorists and who’s even questioned whether the police should be right to shoot to kill.”
Corbyn has previously said he was “not happy” with a shoot-to-kill policy, which enabled police to kill the three terrorists just eight minutes after their rampage began on Saturday night.
