Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his statement. There is a long tradition of cross-party co-operation on national security. The Opposition will support the Government motion. We are satisfied that the groups included meet the test of terrorism under section 3 of the 2000 Act.

This is the last time we will discuss a proscription order during this Parliament. I believe it is the eighth time I have responded for the Opposition on a proscription order, and the sixth time in the past two years. The increasing rate of proscription orders reflects the increasing terror threat in recent years and the emergence of terror groups across the world.

During this Parliament, we have proscribed groups such as Boko Haram from Nigeria, and Imarat Kavkaz from the Caucasus. Less than two years ago, we were proscribing the Islamic State in the Levant, which is now the world’s largest, best-funded and most powerful terrorist organisation ever. The two groups we are discussing are, in some ways, a break with the trend of the past five years. They are established and well-publicised groups relating to long-standing terror groups including al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Opposition, as always, have not had access to the same information about the groups as the Minister. However, given that the two groups are already well established and high profile, and are linked to a series of shocking and violent terrorist acts, we are happy to support the Government motion.

As the Minister laid out in his statement, JUA is an Islamic extremist group that is seeking to establish a so-called Islamic caliphate in Pakistan, and to commit a global jihad across the Indian subcontinent and beyond. As he explained, the group is linked to several high-profile attacks from last year, and has spoken out to support UK-based hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

The Haqqani network appears to be an even larger group, hailing from Afghanistan and aiming to establish sharia law and take control of territory. As the Minister said, the group is aligned with both the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as with other known terror groups such as Islamic Jihad Union. Taken together, the groups provide a substantial force with a reach across central Asia. The Opposition are particularly concerned about the apparent involvement of the Haqqani network in attacks on the British embassy, and so absolutely support its proscription.

I agree with the Minister that proscription is a vital tool against terrorism, and that it enables us to tackle and disrupt terror groups co-operating around the world, but as we come to the end of a Parliament during which there has been an exceptional number of proscription orders, we need to consider whether the proscription powers we currently use are having the results we require. The effect of a proscription order is to make it illegal to join, support or even wear a uniform associated with a terrorist group, but it seems that proscription orders are not having the effect of reducing a group’s presence on social media. I am sure the Minister is acutely aware of the findings of the Intelligence and Security Committee that social media sites were a “safe haven” for terrorist groups.

The last proscription order we passed in the House related to a group that had Arabic and English official Twitter accounts, and an official YouTube channel. They seem to be unaffected by the proscription order. Various Twitter accounts associate themselves with the Haqqani network and an associated group that has posted numerous YouTube videos.

Does the Minister agree that we need to reconsider the situation whereby legislation says it is illegal to wear a uniform, but there is no problem hosting extremist videos or distributing hate messages to millions of people? Why was there nothing in Monday’s counter-terrorism strategy announcement to deal with social media?

I want to press the Minister on the issue of prosecutions of members, supporters and facilitators of proscribed organisations. The ISC report on Lee Rigby’s murder, which was published last year, highlighted the low number of prosecutions and the difficulties the police face in obtaining the necessary evidence. Have the Government had a chance to respond to that particular aspect of the report?