Boy, 15, arrested on suspicion of far-right terror plot
Counterterror police say there is ‘no imminent threat to the public’ as investigation continues
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A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of mounting a far-right terror plot.
The teenager, who has not been named, was detained in south London on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command said he was arrested as part of a “proactive operation”.
“There is not believed to be any imminent threat to the public in relation to this,” a statement added.
“The ongoing investigation is suspected to be linked to extreme right wing ideology.”
The boy was arrested on suspicion of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, and has been bailed to a date in February.
It comes as a record number of children are detained on suspicion of terror offences in Britain, making up one in eighr of those arrested.
One of Britain’s most senior counterterror police officers told The Independent that the profile of terrorists has “completely changed” in recent years.
Dean Haydon, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said changes to the way attacks are planned, targeted and carried out had made them harder to spot.
“The main threat we currently see is from people within this country that are being self-radicalised,” he added.
“The profile of a terrorist has completely changed, and that comes back to how the threat has changed. We are dealing with individuals who are self-radicalised, that are looking at extremist materials online.”
The security services say 32 plots have been foiled since March 2017 – 18 jihadist, 12 far-right and two from other ideologies.
The extreme right-wing threat makes up around 13 per cent of cases currently being handled by counterterror police, while the bulk remain jihadist.