Scotland’s new counter-terrorism chief: neo-Nazis as much of a threat as al-Qaeda

Scotland's new terror tsar has warned that the threat from right-wing extremism is as damaging to community relations as the menace posed by al-Qaeda.

In an exclusive interview on his first day as the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland's counter terrorism co-ordinator, Allan Burnett said forces should not ignore the latent neo-Nazi presence across the UK. Fife's assistant chief constable said the public is at risk because racism is being used to unite people into violent causes. He said this also undermines police work to reassure the Muslim community following the attack on Glasgow Airport last year.

Burnett said: "We've had a number of right-wing issues recently in the UK that again have raised their head in Scotland. There have been serious cases down south that have been really well dealt with by the police down there, but we shouldn't be complacent about it. There's no point promoting positive race relations if, in claiming to be everyone's co-ordinator of counter terrorism, you take your eye off the right-wing."

Burnett's comments are a reminder of the threats facing communities, following the arrest of an alleged neo-Nazi in Dundee last November. Martyn Gilleard of Goole, Humberside, will soon stand trial at the Old Bailey, charged with making four nail-bombs and possessing bomb making manuals. Prosecutors will allege he had a right wing "terrorist agenda".

Burnett, a former race relations officer and director of intelligence at Strathclyde Police, is responsible for co-ordinating the country's response to the modern threat of global terrorism. He will also work with UK and international counter terrorism officers.

Burnett plans to combat the threat by developing closer links with communities. This follows his well-praised efforts in the Sighthill area of the city after the murder of Turkish asylum seeker Firsat Dag seven years ago. The murder sparked rival demonstrations by asylum seekers claiming they were receiving preferential treatment by the authorities.

Burnett said: "I learned that you don't just focus on the minority ethnic community. The solution to those pressing problems involved all the community."

Burnett, 50, who began his police work in Maryhill in 1979, started fighting terrorism at an early stage of his career. As a young Special Branch officer, he was involved in the 1985 operation to arrest Brighton bomber Patrick Magee and several other IRA suspects involved in the attack on Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet at the Grand Hotel the previous year. They were found at a flat containing a guns' cache in the southside of Glasgow.

He urged communities to be "self-policing" and said the police need to further develop their "preventative strategy", which includes the idea of parents tipping off the police if they suspect their children or other relatives and friends are being "brainwashed" into terrorism via the internet or other activities.

"It's really about making sure young people are not persuaded by terrorist brainwashing, and end up going down a line they, their families, their victims, and relatives, will regret," he said.

"Very quickly, people label communities and say that everybody was guilty or that everybody must have known what was going on after a terrorist incident. There's an awful lot of cases where people genuinely don't know what's going on. It's like educating parents about drugs and what signs to look for. We don't get it right if parents don't know what their kids are getting up to behind their backs. We must get ourselves into a position where the parents are concerned, even at the lowest levels; that we have something set up where they feel free to come to the authorities. We need surveillance - not on communities, but on individuals who are actively involved or supporting terrorist organisations. We have some excellent relations with the community, but they can always be better and deeper."

The security services recently revealed 2000 people are being monitored in the UK, with an unspecified number of others also under surveillance. Burnett, who took over the post from Strathclyde assistant chief constable John Corrigan, said: "I am going to rely on an awful lot of people, understand the fears of their communities, their concerns and get the right balance between human rights and the laws that enable action against terrorist activity to take place."

Sunday Herald