CONTENTS CTB 54

Counterterrorism MSc Programme

07 NEWS

Terrorism threat level raised in Northern Ireland; Research investigates use of Live Facial Recognition in Met; Increase in number of young people arrested for terrorism offences

12 MARTYNS LAW

Draft legislation for Martyn’s Law is set to be published in the spring. Figen Murray, campaigner and mother of Martyn Hett, whom the law is named after explains what we can expect and what it has taken to get this far

14 MANCHESTER ARENA ENQUIRY Nick Aldworth of Risk2Resolution on volume 3 of the Manchester Arena Inquiry

16 PREVENT REVIEW

The much anticipated Independent Review of Prevent was published in February. While the government has said it is committed to implementing the findings of the review, there have been widespread criticisms

21 THE SECURITY EVENT

The Security Event (TSE), the UK’s no.1 award-winning commercial, enterprise and domestic security event returns to the NEC Birmingham on 25-27 April 2023

25 HVM

Event organisers have a Corporate Social Responsibility to take immediate action to protect members of the public, leading hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) experts have warned

28 CTX 2023

CTX – The Counter Terror Expo returns to ExCeL London on 17th & 18th May to unite professionals from industry, infrastructure, government and policing to explore the latest counter-terrorism technologies and solutions

31 FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY

Many police forces and other security services have been using facial recognition technology for a while now. However, it is a hotly debated topic with privacy concerns and struggles to win over the public

35 INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EXPO

With new threats and patterns increasing in frequency and sophistication, innovation in the security industry is more important than ever. This makes the 2023 edition of ISE, returning to Olympia London in September 2023, more essential than ever

40 CYBER SECURITY

Tom Kidwell, Co-Founder, Ecliptic Dynamics and former British Army and UK Government intelligence specialist and internet infrastructure security professional on protecting the public sector

42 CCW 2023

Tero Pesonen and Mladen Vratonjic of TCCA’s Critical Communications Broadband Group look at the origin of CCW 2023’s key theme and discuss key topics at Critical Communications World 2023 in Helsinki

44 CTB INTERVIEW

CTB interviews Travis Frain, a survivor of the 2017 Westminster Bridge attack in which four people were killed, and who recently received The British Citizen Award for Services to Volunteering and Charitable Giving

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland

Terrorism threat level raised in Northern Ireland

continue to report any concerns they have to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Biden marks 25 years of Good Friday Agreement

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland has announced that the Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland has been raised from substantial to severe.

Chris Heaton-Harris said that the decision to change the threat level is taken by MI5, independently of ministers. The threat level is now severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

According to a statement from the Secretary of State, the public should remain vigilant, but not be alarmed and

NATO Finland joins NATO

Heaton-Harris said: “The threat level to Northern Ireland from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism is constantly monitored and is subject to a regular formal review. This is a systematic, comprehensive and rigorous process, based on the very latest intelligence and analysis of factors which drive the threat. The threat level review takes into account a range of factors and analysis of recent incidents.”

Recent months have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland Related Terrorism, which has targeted police officers.

The threat level for Northern Ireland was downgraded last March.

The threat level in the rest of the UK remains substantial, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.

Manchester Arena Attack

US President Joe Biden has marked 25 years of the Good Friday agreement in a visit to Belfast. Biden commented on the “tremendous progress” that has been made since the agreement was signed. He said: “This place is transformed by peace; made technicolour by peace; made whole by peace.”

Finland has officially joined NATO, doubling the alliance’s border with Russia. Finland becomes the 31st member of the security alliance.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accepted the accession document from the Finnish foreign secretary and declared Finland a member of NATO.

NATO’s Article five states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. This means that if Finland (which shares an 832-mile border with Russia) were to be attacked, all NATO member states would come to its aid.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said: “It is a great day for Finland.”

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said: “This will make Finland safer and NATO stronger.”

“President Putin had a declared goal of the invasion of Ukraine to get less NATO along its borders and no more membership in Europe, he’s getting exactly the opposite.”

Finland has an active armed force of around 30,000 as well as 250,000 reserves.

The Glade of Light memorial to victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena Attack has won a national award. According to the Manchester Evening News, the memorial has been awarded a community impact and engagement special award in the Civic Trust Awards 2023. The judges said: “The overall composition is exceptional with the landscaping and planting being a soft and responsive reflection of the existing public realm and surrounding environs.”

The Civic trust added that the memorial had “become a significant place in the heart of Manchester for the personal and communal process of remembrance, grieving and healing”.

Joanne Roney OBE, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said: “The Glade of Light memorial is a peaceful place for remembrance and reflection, both private and collective. I know that all those involved in this project, and who put so much care and love into it, were honoured to be working on the memorial and will be humbled that it has been recognised in this way.”

Biden also met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and with some of Stormont’s political party leaders. He urged politicians to return to government, but praised them for their unity following the attempted murder of a police officer in February. A large security operation was in place for the visit, with 2,900 officers deployed for the £7 million operation. However, the PSNI is investigating after a document that seems to give details of the operation was found on the street by a member of the public.

MARTYN’S LAW

Martyn’s Law draft bill to be published in spring

Home secretary Suella Braverman has told MPs that a draft Martyn’s Law bill is on track to be published this spring.

The announcement came as MPs were discussing the third volume of the Manchester Arena Inquiry report. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asked Braverman to share the timetable of the proposed law and whether it would appear before parliament before summer recess.

Braverman said: “In relation to Martyn’s law, the government will publish draft legislation for scrutiny in the spring and after that introduce a bill to the house as soon as parliamentary time allows.”

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