British counter-terrorism services are investigating cases of teenagers as young as 15 arrested for taking part in plots by foreign hostile states to destabilise the UK. Counter Terror Policing chiefs warn that foreign intelligence is actively using social media and encrypted apps to recruit underage youth as proxies to commit crimes on British soil.
The head of the counter-terrorism unit, Lawrence Taylor, has revealed to the media that the number of national security investigations has has increased by 50% since the end of last year and the trend shows no signs of slowing down.
„Cheap and fungible assets“ through the phone screen
Senior National Policing Coordinator Vicky Evans said the use of criminal intermediaries had become the “number one tactic“ for countries such as Iran, Russia and China. Foreign agents see British youth as “cheap and fungible assets“, often drawn into plots without even realising they are working for the governments in Moscow, Tehran or Hong Kong.
Targeting occurs primarily online – via platforms such as Telegram and Signal. Young people are lured in with promises of “quick and easy money”, initially given small tasks that quickly escalate to serious crimes. The activities for which evidence is being collected include:
Surveillance and reconnaissance of objects; Threats and harassment against dissidents and critics of foreign regimes; Property arson and physical violence.
Iranian and Russian footprints on the island
According to official data Iran accounts for the largest share of the current work of anti-terrorist forces in the field of state threats. Dozens of kidnapping and assassination plots are being investigated. A recent example of the escalation is the wave of anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish sites in London, carried out by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, which is believed to be funded directly by Tehran. Earlier this month, two foreign nationals recruited by Iran were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a knife attack on a dissident journalist in London.
Meanwhile, police are cracking down on a “constant flow“ from Russian surveillance plots and attempts to infiltrate the nation's daily lives to spread propaganda narratives.
New laws and protections
Authorities have stressed that online social engineering has distorted many young people's sense of what is normal and acceptable, making them extremely vulnerable to manipulation. While the British government is pressing ahead with plans to ban social media for under-16s, police insist this will not be enough and tech giants must take greater responsibility for removing dangerous content.
To address the growing threat, the UK is tightening its laws. The new changes to the National Security Act (National Security Act) provide penalties of up to 14 years in prison for anyone who aids, assists or receives funding from groups acting in favor of hostile foreign forces.