Liberty responds to Home Office data on increase in counter-terror arrests

In response to the Guardian article, Ruth Ehrlich, Director of External Relations at Liberty, said:

“The staggering increase in arrests over the past year is the clearest indicator that the UK’s counter-terror laws are not fit for purpose.

“The Government’s current definition of terrorism is so wide-ranging it captures behaviour most people would never consider terrorism.

“When it’s not clear what counts as terrorism, public trust collapses and without trust, counter-terror laws simply won’t work.

“This data underscores the urgent need to update the current definition of terrorism to enable current, and future governments to uphold their duty to safeguard the public whilst protecting people’s rights and preventing overreach.”