Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood spoke to the press after Counter Terrorism Police confirmed youngsters are regularly recruited by China, Russia and Iran – because they’re cheap and replaceable assets
Children as young as 15 have been arrested for acting as foreign state proxies, Counter Terrorism Police have revealed.
Officers warned youngsters are recruited by China, Russia and Iran because they’re cheap and replaceable assets. Counter Terrorism Police’ National Coordinator Vicki Evans said: “Use of proxies is tactic number one — we are really concerned about this and the public should be too.
“There is no fixed profile for a proxy, [and] you might not realise you’re being targeted. It can happen in the workplace, the home, or anywhere we go about our daily lives. Those recruiting don’t see geographical borders as boundaries — it’s happening here, in the UK, in our neighbourhoods.”
Warning young people acting as proxies, she added: “You are alone in court when facing these actions, not with those who tasked you with them. We now have even stronger powers to tackle those acting for hostile states.
“Of the five individuals we’ve seen sentenced since December 2023, they’ve received a total of more than 50 years in prison. The weight of the law is very heavy if you’re caught – we’ll [Counter Terror Police] be relentless.”
Evans spoke at a press briefing hours after the National Security (State Threats) Bill received Royal Assent. The legislation will give the Home Secretary new powers to protect the public from individuals and groups carrying out hostile activity for foreign states, including their proxies.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Keeping our country and communities safe is the first duty of any government. That’s why we’ve taken decisive action to deal with the growing threat posed by aggressive foreign states.
“Under these new powers, we’re going further to dismantle and deter hostile activity. This act gives the police and intelligence agencies the tools they need to pursue foreign powers and their proxies, and better protect our communities, institutions, and democratic values.”
The National Security Act 2023 gave the police and intelligence agencies new tools to detect and disrupt hostile activity and modern offences to bring perpetrators to justice.
It’s already led to a number of charges and subsequent convictions, including Russia’s proxies Dylan Earl and Jake Reeves for their role in an arson attack on a warehouse in east London, and Peter Wai and Chung Biu Yuen for their targeting of Hong Kongers in the UK.