Lone Wolves: Myth or Reality?
Author(s):
David Copeland’s two-week bombing campaign in spring 1999 brought the existence of far-right terrorism into the public eye. In fact he was not the first far-right terrorist to be convicted in Britain and many others have followed. Nevertheless the police, Crown Prosecution Service and courts have generally viewed far-right terrorists as isolated individuals – lone wolves – rather than the inevitable consequence of the activities of several, often small, organisations that espouse a violent racist and fascist ideology. This has meant that the authorities have failed to put in place effective strategies to monitor these extreme-right groups with a view to early identification of those individuals who show signs of making the transition from racist abuse and threatening behaviour to terrorism and murder. This report includes case studies of nearly 40 individuals holding far-right political views who have been convicted for violence or terrorist offences. The details revealed in court showed that they were motivated, and obtained the knowledge and where withal to carry out their acts, through dangerous networks that introduced them to a perverse ideological world. Many of the mused the internet to associate with like minded people, exchange ideas and obtain information about how to acquire weapons or make explosives and deadly chemicals.

