Between November 2020 and February 2021, Anthony Barraclough of east London posted content that demonstrated his hatred for people of ethnic minorities. He distributed a political text and hate speech recording advocating white supremacy and terrorist violence, as well as videos of black people being racially abused. George Floyd was mentioned in one video. Counter-terrorism officers discovered these posts. The material was reviewed by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), which determined that some of the content violated terrorism legislation. On February 25, 2021, Barraclough was arrested. Officers discovered a black “Celtic Cross” flag in his home, a symbol commonly used by European neo-Nazis. Barraclough admitted to the following offences when he appeared in Kingston Crown Court on May 6, 2022: – Three counts of disseminating a terrorist publication (in violation of Terrorism Act 2006 section 2(1)). – Six counts of distributing written material to incite racial hatred (in violation of Public Order Act 1986 section 19(1)). – One count of distributing a recording with the intent to incite racial hatred (in violation of section 21(1) of the Public Order Act 1986). On Friday, June 10, he was sentenced to a total of six years in prison at Kingston Crown Court. “Barraclough posted appalling racist material online, with the intention of encouraging others to adopt his extremist views and hatred of black people,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command. This type of online activity is toxic and dangerous – it is not harmless idle talk, and it frequently has serious real-world consequences.” “Officers moved quickly to identify the offending content, as well as investigate and arrest the person who posted it.” Following his arrest, Barraclough, 40 (28.4.1982), was charged on October 13, 2021, and appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court for the first time on November 12, 2021. + Extreme online content can be anonymously reported at https:///www.gov.uk/report-terrorism. It is also possible to report it using the iREPORTit app. The Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), which is part of the Counter-Terrorism Policing Network, is responsible for investigating terrorist content on the internet and working to have it removed from hosting platforms.
