The UK government on Tuesday announced a host of new tougher counter-terrorism measures, including subjecting convicted terrorists to lie-detector tests for parole and longer prison sentences.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government had faced up to some "hard truths" after convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed two people in a stabbing spree at London Bridge last November as she unveiled the plans, which are to be tabled before the UK Parliament by mid-March in the form of a Counter-Terrorism Bill.
"The senseless terror attack at Fishmongers' Hall in November confronted us with some hard truths about how we deal with terrorist offenders, which is why we immediately announced a review into sentencing and licence conditions, to do whatever is necessary to stop these sickening attacks from taking place," said Patel, the senior-most Indian-origin UK Cabinet minister.
"Today we are delivering on those promises, giving police and probation officers the resources they need to investigate and track offenders, introducing tougher sentences, and launching major reviews into how offenders are managed after they are released. We will also review the support available for victims and their families to make sure they receive the help they need," she said.
As part of an overhaul of the terrorist licensing or parole regime, the government plans to double the number of specialist counter-terrorism probation officers who will have measures such as polygraph testing, or lie-detector testing, at their disposal.
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Polygraphs are inadmissible in UK courts but they are used by the probation service in certain cases, such as with serious sexual offenders.
Usman Khan, whose family hailed from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), had been out on licence half-way through his sentence for the preparation of a terrorist attack a few years ago when he launched his attack last year before being shot dead by counter-terror police.
The government had launched a review into such cases, with plans to further tighten the monitoring around criminals convicted for terrorist offences.
Under new norms, dangerous terrorist offenders who receive extended sentences must serve the whole time behind bars and those convicted of serious offences, such as preparing acts of terrorism or directing a terrorist organisation, must spend a mandatory minimum of 14 years in prison.
"Coupled with our strong measures to manage terrorists behind bars, this Counter-Terrorism Bill toughens restrictions on offenders' communications, increases the number of specialist staff managing them and will ensure they are monitored effectively," said UK Justice Secretary Robert Buckland.
The government would also increase counter-terror police funding by GBP 90 million next year, a 10 per cent hike on this year's funding. These would cover an increase in the number of specialist psychologists and imams working to deradicalise offenders and an increase in the number of places in probation hostels to help police monitor offenders in their first weeks after release from prison.
A separate investment of GBP 500,000 will cover a review into the support in place for victims of terrorism.
The UK's Indian-origin head of counter-terror policing, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, welcomed the announcement as he called for more resources to be put into preventing extremism.
The only way we are going to turn the tide is by throwing our support behind the only strategy which attempts to divert people away from violent extremism in the first place Prevent, said Basu, in reference the government's deradicalising programme.
Whether Prevent is attempting to stop someone following a path towards terrorism, or hoping to rehabilitate and deradicalise those who have already been convicted, it is our best hope in reducing the threat in the long term, he said.
The Opposition Labour Party described the new measures as an admission of failure by the government.
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