After last year brought an end to the UK’s status as one of the most prominent European countries to be unafflicted by Islamist terrorism in the age of ISIS, first on Westminster Bridge, then Manchester Arena and finally London Bridge, comes the latest instalment of the Royal Over-Seas League’s Evelyn Wrench Lecture Series, on Friday 21 September at Over-Seas House.

Guest speakers Commissioner Ian Dyson, City of London Police, Dr Paul Martin OBE, senior associate fellow at RUSI, and Dr Tim Wilson, Director at the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews, join us for a stimulating discussion on the strengths and challenges of counter-terrorism in the UK.

The UK is no stranger to terrorism, from the IRA attacks in the 70s all the way back to the Gunpowder Plot in the 1600s. Today, our intelligence agencies - MI5, MI6, and GCHQ - are among the most sophisticated counter-terrorism agencies in the world, but what other countries praise and seek to emulate is how these organisations work together with the police and emergency services to gather intelligence, respond to threats quickly, and prevent radicalisation.

With weapons becoming smaller, easier to carry and harder to detect, new challenges are presenting themselves to the UK counter-terrorism movement every day. The biggest rising threat in the digital age is how the internet allows for terrorists to reach vulnerable people in their own homes. Patrick McGuinness, the UK’s Deputy National Security adviser, recently stated that the new “frontline [against Isis] is now online… until there is not a presence online, until Isis cannot occupy space online freely, we will not be safe.” All this and more will be examined with our panellists at our Evelyn Wrench Lecture Series.

For the lecture and reception: £30. For the lecture, reception and buffet dinner: £60. Book here.

 

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