Ian Acheson, a former government adviser on extremism in jails, said: “Emergency mass release of prisoners, while necessary, only resulted in a transfer of risk from overcrowded prisons to under-policed communities, with a probation service already on its knees.

“It seems likely we will be here again soon with unsuitable offenders released earlier than a judge directed with a higher likelihood of harm in the community. The only viable response is ‘safety first’, with recidivists not properly prepared for release.”

It is a move endorsed by Ian Acheson, a former prison governor whose 2016 review of Islamist extremism led to the introduction of SCs. He believes Abedi should be kept in total isolation, even if it 'turns him mad'. Speaking to the Mail last night, he said: 'We have to be blunt here. Some people cannot be redeemed and they will not stop as a threat to staff until they are physically incapable. Instead of pandering to the human rights of such offenders we must reorientate our approach to containment, isolation and control for the 'spectacular few'. 'Abedi is one of those. He made a free choice to murder dozens of innocent people. His rights must always be subordinate to those looking after him.'

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "A new report entitled “The enduring role of ideology in terrorism and radicalisation” is a meticulously researched and timely riposte to Keir Starmer’s view that we are now facing a “changed” terrorist threat in the aftermath of the Southport attack. What the author of the report, Robin Simcox, found instead was the enduring power of ideas and beliefs."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "The assailant in the Southport massacre has pleaded guilty to the murders of three children in the town last year. Keir Starmer has leapt with unusual speed to authorise a public inquiry into what drove Axel Rudakubana into his frenzy of killing and if it could have been prevented. We now know that the state’s protective agencies crossed Rudakubana multiple times; he was referred three times to the government’s Prevent strategy, which is supposed to spot and stop tomorrow’s terrorists before hateful thought turns into lethal action."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "We are rapidly becoming a low trust society and this has serious implications for ‘community cohesion.’

The term, coined by academics after the 2011 riots has lately become a soubriquet for institutional cowardice in the face of a national child safeguarding catastrophe. But when it was originally conceived, it was a way of describing the ties that bind communities together and a means of breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions that can fuel sectarian alienation and even translate into ideological violence."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "What can recent developments in the scandal over child sexual exploitation tell us about our dangerous descent into a low trust society? Two Labour MPs have now broken ranks to contradict the leadership and say a national inquiry into child rape grooming gangs is now needed. Many people will not have heard of Dan Carden, but Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, is Red royalty and his intervention will matter."

"Counter Extremism Project Senior Advisor Ian Acheson sat down for an interview about growing up with a terrorist threat on the Civic Space podcast from the University of Liverpool.”
 

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "The Home Secretary has admitted a thing that has long been known to those of us without close protection officers: that in many communities, people often feel that ‘crime has no consequences’. "

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "The last comparable period of civil disorder in this country happened in 2011. Then as now, the courts acted with speed and severity to try to quell five days of rioting in multiple locations, which traumatised the nation, caused hundreds of millions in damage and injured more than three hundred officers. The head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time was one Keir Starmer. Now, as prime minister, he seeks again to confront the horrific street violence with the same apparent energy and determination. But can a punitive response work to stop violence that has at times threatened to overwhelm the police? Times have changed, and our criminal justice system is in tatters."