A 16-year-old male has been arrested on terror-related offences near a mosque in Scotland, with authorities investigating potential connections to right-wing extremist ideology.
On Thursday, Police said they arrested a 16-year-old boy shortly after 09:00 at the Inverclyde Islamic Centre on Laird Street in connection with offences under the Terrorism Act.
It is believed police were investigating whether the alleged offences were connected to right-wing extremism.
A second boy was also arrested later that day in the Greenock area in connection with a separate terrorism offence.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Freeburn stated there was no indication of additional public risk, adding that investigations are ongoing.
“During the course of the investigation, a second 16-year-old male youth was arrested this afternoon in the Greenock area in connection with a separate terrorism offence,” Freebairn said.
“He has been released without charge pending further inquiries.”
The incidents occurred in the same week Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was a new terror threat from young men who perpetrate extreme violence without traditional ideological motivations.
While such incidents typically receive little media coverage and fail to generate outrage from right-wing commentators, they back up recent data showing the growing prevalence of far-right and right-wing extremism compared to Muslim extremism.
New terror threat
Police responded swiftly on Thursday to make the initial arrest in Greenock’s town centre, establishing cordons around Laird Street and West Blackhall Street.
Police said they are engaging with the community to provide reassurance and urged anyone with information or concerns to speak to officers.
On Thursday morning, Martin McCluskey, MP for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West, said on Facebook.
“This morning, Police arrested a sixteen-year-old boy in Greenock under the Terrorism Act. I have been briefed by local Police Scotland officers and will remain in contact with them.
“As people will have seen from media reports, the boy is understood to be a white Scottish male and the police have said that there is no indication that anyone else was involved or that there is any further risk to the public.
“If anyone has any further information or has any concerns, I would encourage them to contact the Police.”
At the start of the week, Starmer highlighted concerns about “loners, misfits and young men in their bedrooms” who become fixated on violence “seemingly for its own sake.”
The comments came in the wake of Axel Rudakubana’s brutal murder of three young girls last summer – a case that saw right-wing elements rapidly spread false social media claims alleging the perpetrator was a migrant or Muslim.
While far-right rhetoric persistently portrays migrants and Muslims as the primary terror threat, data shows right-wing extremism and other forms of extremism are now more prevalent than Muslim extremism.
Prevent referrals – the government’s counter-extremism programme – reflects this shift: ‘vulnerable but no ideology’ has been the predominant category for five years, and since 2022, referrals for ‘extreme right-wing views’ and ‘conflicted’ ideologies have exceeded those linked to ‘Islamist extremism’.
Image source: Inverclyde Islamic Centre website
