Senior British police officials have warned that technology and online platforms are increasingly being used to threaten the UK, including by hostile countries, extremists and far-right groups. The threat from hostile states is the most rapidly escalating mission for counterterrorism police, with over 20 Iranian-backed plots identified in 2025, including assassinations, kidnappings and other serious crimes. Police are also investigating whether arson attacks against Jewish sites have a link to Iran, and Russia has been recruiting people on apps like Telegram to carry out vandalism or set fires. The challenge for law enforcement is that anyone could be targeted, especially online, and the risk is in our neighbourhoods, online spaces and workplaces. Pressure needs to be put on technology companies to help curb harmful content online, said Evans.
This 2024 photo provided by the Metropolitan Police shows damage to a warehouse in east London that was storing goods for Ukraine, after a fire that prosecutors said was organised on behalf of Russia's intelligence services.
Technology and online platforms are increasingly being used to threaten the UK, including by hostile countries, extremists and far-right groups, senior British police officials said Thursday. There is a continual battle against threats online, said Vicki Evans, a senior national coordinator for counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police, and police need help from technology companies because it's not something we can do alone.
Islamic extremism remains the biggest threat but over the past five years, threats from far-right groups and hostile states have significantly grown, said Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism police. According to Evans, the threat from hostile states is the most rapidly escalating mission for counterterrorism police. In July, two Romanian men were jailed over the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station, which the judge said was carried out on behalf of Iran's government.
In June, a Ukrainian man and Romanian man were jailed for their role in setting fire to property linked to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer - a plot which fits the description of Russian state-backed sabotage. And in May, a UK border official and former Hong Kong police officer were convicted of spying for China. Evans said that in 2025, there were more than 20 Iranian-backed plots, including assassinations, kidnappings and other serious crimes against the UK.
Additionally, police are still investigating whether arson attacks against Jewish sites earlier in the year have a link to Iran. Russia has been organising a constant stream of surveillance plots against people and institutions in Britain, aiming to target people Russian officials believe are enemies, infiltrate ordinary life and identify people who will peddle Russian narratives or carry out proxy work on behalf of the Russian state, she added.
Across Europe, Russia has recruited dozens of people on apps like Telegram to carry out vandalism or set fires - including at a warehouse in London that stored communications equipment meant for Ukraine. Dylan Earl, the ringleader of that plot, was recruited on Telegram by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organisation acting on behalf of Moscow that has been designated a terrorist group by the UK government.
Evans also said that teenagers as young as 15 have been arrested by police in relation to proxy plots. The challenge for law enforcement, she added, is that anyone could be targeted, especially online. This isn't something that's happening elsewhere, Evans said, speaking to journalists at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police headquarters. It's happening here.
This risk is in our neighbourhoods, in our online spaces and in our workplaces. Taylor said that the threat level in the UK was raised in April from substantial to severe, partly because cases linked to extreme far-right ideologies are growing substantially. Police have noted an increase in vile content, particularly online, which creates a cocktail of racism, misogyny and extreme homophobia, he said.
Extreme views, he said, appear to be being challenged less and less and so conditions have been created where previously unacceptable views are now more prevalent. As an example, he gave the case of an 18-year-old woman, Alina Burns, who was imprisoned for almost 20 years in May after attacking a stranger with an axe - an attack that Taylor said was motivated by her extreme right-wing mindset.
Alfie Coleman - a 22-year-old sentenced on Wednesday for 13.5 years for trying to buy a gun from an undercover MI5 officer - was radicalized online from the age of 14, Taylor said. Evans said that those behind the exploitation are specifically designing online content to attract young people by blending it with propaganda and gaming footage, historical images and music.
The young are then prompted to carry out violent acts - such as being asked to recreate in real life horrific attacks from video games, she said. In some cases, Evans said, sadistic online groups ask people to compete against each other to cause harm online and offline - by using cyberattacks, extremism, serious violence or even child sexual abuse or terrorism.
The extent of lawful but awful content online, including extreme violence and gore, she said means that some people now have a skewed sense of what is normal or acceptable. Although the government has said that Britain will ban social media for those under 16, that is not enough, said Evans, adding that pressure needs to be put on technology companies to help curb harmful content online
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