According to the Metropolitan Police, hostile nations like Russia and Iran are recruiting children and young adults in London to engage in acts of sabotage and other illegal activities.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism division, noted a significant increase—five times— in hostile state activity since the 2018 Salisbury poisoning incident.
In an interview with BBC’s Politics London program, he mentioned that some of those being recruited are adolescents and urged parents to keep a close eye on their children’s online activities.
A spokesperson for the Home Office remarked that the recent convictions related to an arson attack on a warehouse in East London, which was aimed at aid meant for Ukraine, should serve as a stark warning to anyone contemplating collaboration with foreign entities like Russia.
The fire, which occurred in March 2023, has ties to the Wagner Group, an organization linked to the Russian government. The Leyton warehouse had been responsible for sending equipment, including Starlink satellite systems utilized by Ukrainian forces.
“This investigation reflects a troubling trend that is surfacing more frequently in our casework,” said Commander Murphy.
“This involved a group recruited by the Wagner Group, which ultimately operates under the Russian state, to undertake activities on their behalf within the UK.”
He also indicated that this same network had engaged in surveillance related to a planned attack on a Russian dissident and the businesses he owned in London.
Commander Murphy expressed concern that foreign powers are increasingly enlisting young people in the UK as proxies.
“I’m genuinely alarmed by the developments we’re observing in our investigations,” he said.
“We are noticing that younger individuals are becoming involved in actions on behalf of foreign states.”
He emphasized that there are various reasons behind this trend and appealed to the public, especially parents and families, to acknowledge that this represents a genuine risk today.
Murphy encouraged parents to be vigilant about their children’s online behavior.
The commander noted that motivations for getting involved can range from financial incentives and the allure of notoriety to a desire for belonging to something larger, with some individuals already teetering on the edge of criminality.
At a national level, over 20% of the workload for counter-terrorism policing now pertains to state-related threats, according to Murphy.
While self-directed terrorism remains the Met’s primary focus, he stated that foreign nations like Russia and Iran are increasingly taking advantage of young individuals to circumvent stricter security protocols.
Calvin Bailey, the Labour MP for Leyton and a member of the Defence Committee, commented, “This demonstrates that this issue is occurring right here in our community. Individuals who are under financial strain and can be easily influenced by modest sums of money may find themselves unwittingly working for foreign actors without understanding the repercussions.”
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, described the trend as “extremely, extremely worrisome.”
“I hope that when convictions are obtained, the fact that they were acting on behalf of a hostile state will be considered an aggravating factor leading to more severe sentences,” he added.
The Home Office stated, “National security is a cornerstone of our Plan for Change, and we remain committed to supporting our exceptional law enforcement agencies in mitigating state threats.”
