The process of radicalisation and therefore its impact on the terrorist threat to the UK is evolving, finds Pool Re’s latest Terrorism Frequency Report
Pool Re, Britain’s leading terrorism reinsurer, has announced the publication of its latest Terrorism Frequency Report, one of their regular reviews of the contemporary threat which is produced by Pool Re’s in-house Terrorism Risk and Analysis Centre (TRAC).
The report includes an assessment of ideological trends and processes in terrorist radicalisation written by the Director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute. Dr Raffaello Pantucci, a noted expert on counter terrorism, remarks on a number of emerging trends in terrorism prevention:
- The increased role and visibility of women among Islamist terror organisations, serving as leading propagandists and even in frontline attack cells.
- The changing demographic profile of extreme right-wing groups (“XRW”). The rise of groups such as National Action, with many young male and female members, means the stereotype of the elderly white men is outdated and XRW groups now resemble Islamist groups in composition.
- XRW cells have also adopted Islamist language, with rallying cries of “white jihad” and calls for stabbing attacks to take place.
- Growth of online social communities, providing an environment where fringe micro-ideologies can come to dominate.
In addition to Dr Pantucci’s work on the changing patterns of radicalisation, the Pool Re analysis and research team examine:
- The phenomenon of extreme left-wing (“XLW”) terrorism which, at present, is not considered to present a significant terror threat to the UK, but may experience a resurgence due to the rising prominence of ecological and inequality questions in public discourse;
- Right-wing terrorists, who account for a small proportion of attacks globally but have been on the rise in recent years across the West;
- The status of the current threat from dissident Irish republican movements;
- An in-depth review of significant terrorist incidents globally from February to May, 2019.
The Terrorism Frequency Report is available here.
Media contacts
Jakub Stawiski, Haggie Partners
Peter Rigby, Haggie Partners
Tel: 020 7562 4444
About Pool Re
Pool Re is a private reinsurance company. It was established in 1993 by the insurance industry in the wake of the IRA bombing campaign on the UK mainland, following the withdrawal of cover from international (re)insurers. Structured as a mutual, its member insurers comprise the vast majority of insurers and Lloyd’s Syndicates who offer commercial property insurance in Great Britain. By reinsuring their terrorism risk to Pool Re, members can with confidence provide cover for losses resulting from acts of terrorism, regardless of the scale of the claims.