Countering Violent Extremism
Robin Simcox will use his first speech as the UK’s counter-extremism commissioner to say it is “time to confront reality” about the nature of the extremist threats posed by Hamas and Iranian networks operating in the UK. He is expected to call on the government to have the “confidence and will” to commit itself to a long-term strategy for taking on extreme ideologies. In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London on Thursday, he warns that support for Hamas does not carry the stigma that support for other terrorist groups does. He argues that terrorist attacks on Israel are seen not only as more justifiable than attacks on other countries but, sometimes, as cause for celebration. He cites the pro-Palestinian protests that have attracted thousands of people across the UK in the past week, and chants heard at the rallies.