Most convicted terrorists radicalised online, finds MoJ-backed study

Most convicted terrorists in Britain were turned to extremism by the internet, with half of those radicalised online having some problems with mental health, personality disorders, depression, or autism, the most authoritative study of its kind has found.

While those incited to carry out or support violence online make up the majority of terrorists, their plots, according to the study, are less likely to succeed.

The research challenges conventional wisdom that the growth of internet radicalisation by Islamists and the extreme right allows terrorism to fester out of sight of the security services and police.

The researchers from the prison and probation service, as well as Nottingham Trent and Bournemouth Universities, were given access to Extremism Risk Guidance 22+ forms. These are written for the prison and probation services and assess the commitment to terrorism, as well as the danger posed by convicted terrorists. The forms include material from counter-terrorism policing.

For all convicted terrorists in jail from 2010 to 2021, 490 records were retrieved and 437 studied in detail. Nine out of 10 terrorist prisoners were male, 44% were aged 25 or under when convicted, and seven out of 10 were British-born. The study finds 4% were convicted for animal rights violent extremism, 18% for extreme rightwing terrorist offences, and 72% for Islamist-incited offences.

From 2015 onward, IS launched an intense online propaganda war, with the far right mimicking its strategy as they tried to gain recruits.

In contrast, it is estimated one in six adults in England have a common mental disorder, and one in eight people aged 16 or over screened positive for any type of personality disorder.