Lochs are classified as having a “good” environmental status based on samples from other lochs many miles away – and as much as a decade old – prompting concerns that environmental regulation isn’t “fit for purpose”.
Deer overpopulation in many parts of Scotland is harming the environment. Attempts to tackle the longstanding issue are costing taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.
A freedom of information response revealed there have been 193 charges in Scotland under the Terrorism Act 2000. The alleged offences link to banned groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force, Ulster Freedom Fighters, the IRA, and neo-Nazi group, National Action.
Far right extremism was the most common ideology of individuals in Scotland reported to the UK Government’s counter-terrorism programme, according to the latest Police Scotland data.
The figures, released on 26 January, show that nearly a third of the Scottish residents referred to the anti-terror Prevent programme in the year ending 31 March 2022 held right wing extremist beliefs – almost triple the amount attracted to Islamic extremism.
Referrals over far right concerns have greatly exceeded those relating to Islamic extremism for the fourth year running.
The Home Office’s Prevent programme aims to “stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism” and relies on being notified of individuals deemed vulnerable to being drawn into violent extremism.
Referrals come from local authorities, schools, colleges, universities, health bodies, prisons and other sources, although the police – followed by the education sector – typically make the most referrals.
Once individuals are referred, Police Scotland assesses whether they are suitable for Prevent Case Management (PCM) – an intervention scheme. Nearly two-thirds of those deemed suitable for PCM in 2021/22 held far right beliefs.
As part of its work on Prevent, the Scottish Government has targeted Patriotic Alternative – Scotland’s most prominent far right group.
The Ferret recently reported that the government suggested that Police Scotland and Pursue – a strand of Prevent which aims “to stop terrorist attacks” – coordinate a meeting regarding PA and online radicalisation.
We previously revealed that a leading figure in PA Scotland used a private chat group to recruit neo-Nazis who posed with weapons, shared a bomb-making manual, quoted a mass murderer, and said members should kill “for the greater good”.
The latest Prevent figures show that the number of Prevent referrals increased by 65 per cent compared with 2020/21. Police Scotland attributed the drop in the previous year to lockdowns and other Covid-19 restrictions.
Of the 91 referrals in 2021/22, 54 per cent had either a “mixed, unstable or unclear ideology”, 31 per cent held far right beliefs, while 11 per cent were linked to an Islamic extremist ideology.
The vast majority of Prevent referrals were for young men. Some 92 per cent were male, while more than two thirds were under 20 years old.
The proportion of all those referred without a clear ideology has more than doubled in five years, and rose by more than a fifth between 2020/21 and 2021/22 alone.
The proportion relating to right-wing extremism steadily rose before falling by 14 per cent between 2020/21 and 2021/22, while referrals relating to Islamist extremism have remained just above 10 per cent since 2019/20.
Police Scotland said the new data provided “visibility of the critical work that is being undertaken to protect both these vulnerable people and communities”.
“By working effectively together, we will help to safeguard individuals who have been identified as vulnerable to radicalisation or susceptible to being drawn into terrorism or violent extremism,” said assistant chief constable, Gary Ritchie.
“The Prevent strategy promotes early intervention and the adoption of a multi-agency approach to safeguard individuals and communities. We remain committed to building strong partnerships with communities and other stakeholders to address the underlying causes fuelling radicalisation.”
The Ferret exposed the extreme views of Reform UK’s Scotland’s candidates before Nigel Farage promised to improve his party’s “poor” vetting processes, but many of them have been re-selected to fight the Holyrood election.
Online claims questioned Scottish Labour's house building in government between 1999 and 2007.
Far right actors have used gaming to recruit youngsters for some time but experts say they are increasingly using codes and imagery to avoid moderation.
John Carroll says his nighttime rounds are protecting the community. Critics say his “abhorrent” views on Hitler, the Holocaust and race are incompatible with his adopted role.
