Lone wolves: myth or reality?

discovered by luck. For example
police visited the home of David
Tovey in pursuit of an enquiry
about racist graffiti and Nathan
Worrell came to attention because
of the racist stickers he plastered
near the home of a mixed race
couple. Police only discovered
Martyn Gilleard’s extensive
preparations to wage race war after
acting on a tip-off regarding child
pornography, for which he was also
convicted.
The cases outlined in this report
demonstrate conclusively that farright
terrorists are not lone wolves
but are connected with, influenced
by and often helped by
organisations whose beliefs they
share. Increasingly criminal justice
practitioners and other experts are
moving towards this view, with a
few notable exceptions. Some of
these views are reproduced in
Chapter 4.
In Chapter 5 the question of what
makes an individual commit an act
of terror is examined
comprehensively by Dr Paul
Jackson, a researcher at the
University of Northampton, who
concludes that the term “lone wolf”
is of limited value and that those
who act alone are often supported
by others, either tacitly or explicitly.
Dr Jackson has also contributed a
chapter examining the issue of
tackling violent extremism in the
community, arguing that a more
integrated approach is needed.
The report makes 11
recommendations aimed at
improving the detection of
terrorists motivated by extremeright
ideology. They cover better
intelligence gathering and
monitoring of those highly violent
organisations that inspire
individuals to engage in terrorism,
facilitating exchange of
information, and better training of
those tasked with investigating
violent extremism. The author
proposes that the police should
enter into deals guaranteeing a
reduced sentence in exchange for
information that would prevent
other terrorist activity or lead to
other prosecutions. Most crucially,
the evidence in this report leads to
the conclusion that far-right
terrorism must be treated as
seriously as Islamist terrorism.
Fortunately many of those profiled
in this report were caught before
they could carry out the acts for
which they were preparing, but that
will not always be the case. In many
instances the judges sentencing
them were convinced that they
would have used their bombs or
weapons had they not been caught
in time.
Executive summary
Often those who have become
involved in far-right violence and
terrorism have shown signs of such
interests at a young age. As part of a
strategy for tackling violent
extremism there needs to be
effective work with young people to
divert them from engaging in racist
violence and involvement in
extreme-right organisations.
Such work must be led by
knowledgeable and properly
trained specialists who have the
skill to intervene with first-time
offenders and determine whether
they have any political interests
that could result in the person
stepping up their offending towards
terrorism. Young people may be
particularly vulnerable to the
influence of superficially attractive
far-right ideology, especially if it
comes from those they look up to.
Nicky Davison is a case in point.
Above all this report is aimed at
promoting further discussion about
the threat of terrorism emanating
from the far right and encouraging
further research on why a few
individuals are attracted to violent
racist political beliefs and as a
result engage in terrorist activity. ●
Lone wolves: myth or reality? | 7