Patrick Mercer: Terrorism '“ we must protect those who protect us

And, while there are improvements to be made, I am resolute in praising Greater Manchester Police and the emergency services for their reaction. They were outstanding: they were outstanding because they’d faced the reality of the terrorist threat amongst us, studied it and applied the conclusions that they 
had reached.

As Shadow Minister for Security, I visited Manchester over 10 years ago to see how they were coping with the large numbers of known and suspected terrorists on their streets. There were many young jihadists who had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan now walking freely, but under covert surveillance, and from whom trouble was expected.

So, the Manchester police looked around for a model on how to deal with them: they copied Ulster’s regional intelligence centres long before there was a national lead on this.

Police, MI5 and military officials sat under one roof and ‘fused’ (to use the jargon) information: they even talked directly to foreign intelligence agencies.

The fact that Manchester hasn’t been attacked until a few days ago is a huge tribute to realistic attitudes, the same attitudes that recently caused expensive counter-terrorist exercises to be mounted in public and a fleet of ambulances, doctors and paramedics to be on the scene of the bombing within minutes.

Criticise as much as you like, but would other cities have reacted so well?

My tours in Ulster caused me to ask what else could be learnt and applied here?

One cry at the moment is for some form of internment to be reintroduced. No: a hundred times no – that’s one mistake that must never be repeated. The clumsy jailing without charge of dozens of suspects was the best recruiter the IRA ever had – imagine such a measure now that we have social media.

Every preacher of hate, every twisted, so-called cleric would have a field day – there would be no need to seek outrage miles from home or travel abroad for jihad, it would be here on our doorsteps. Terrorist Prevention and Investigation Measures – or TPIMS – already control suspects perfectly adequately.

Similarly, I’m not sure that we need yet more theorising as there are already excellent mechanisms in place. For instance, another lesson from Northern Ireland was a coherent anti-terrorist framework.

Here, on the mainland, this has matured into the so-called Contest Strategy with its four, self-explanatory strands of Prevent, Prepare, Protect and Pursue. This is intellectually good stuff, but I was horrified to learn that Prevent gets only about five per cent of the budget spent upon it.

If prevention is better than cure, then we must re-energise our efforts to stop young, lonely men from being radicalised in prison, while clerics with a contorted idea of Islam must simply be stopped from infiltrating mosques and university campuses. Of course there will be shrieks of protest, but that noise will come from our enemies.

Freedom of speech and democratic values are pivotal, but neither can be practised if the basic right of life is ripped away by shrapnel. So, some may protest at the police’s right to stop and search, suggesting bias and institutional racism. Well, we stopped and searched continually in Northern Ireland and it was the one measure that our foes really loathed. By eroding these powers in the face of political correctness, we’ve shackled our protectors.

Another great innovation from Ulster was the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. Men and women from all three armed forces were rigorously selected and trained for dangerous, covert surveillance which required a level of fitness and aggression that few police officers can match.

Small in number and expensive to maintain, the SRR proved themselves time and again in Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan and, be in no doubt, here in this country. If you’ve never heard of them that’s a good thing, but they have been crucial in stopping several major atrocities. They punch above their weight: let’s find more of them.

The Manchester bombing has been repugnant and cruel: no-one should endure this, least of all children. But, if we take France and Germany as examples of what terrorists can do, we’ve got off lightly so far. So, let’s bury our dead, steel ourselves for the future and invest in the forces who shield us so bravely.

Patrick Mercer served extensively in Northern Ireland before becoming MP for Newark, Shadow Minister for Security and Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Sub-Committee.