“Extremism” and “domestic extremism” are used interchangeably by the police to differentiate from terrorism. However, the most recent targets have been opponents of fracking, with sustained surveillance from regional counter-terrorism units. This followed reports about City of York council and a school in North Yorkshire including anti-fracking campaigns in their Prevent counter-terrorism advice. To protect freedom to protest, the government also needs to completely separate secretive counter-terrorism units from the policing of non-violent protests. • Kevin Blowe is coordinator of the Network for Police Monitoring

Source: The Guardian January 15, 2020 11:03 UTC