Criminals plotting mass killings to be detained earlier under new law
Police to receive new powers to help prevent violent attacks
- Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed new powers for police and courts to deal with suspects planning mass killings.
- The new tools aim to close a legal gap between terror suspects, who face life imprisonment for planning attacks, and non-ideological individuals planning similar mass atrocities.
- Police will be empowered to apprehend suspects based on preparatory steps, such as research, even without an ideological link, mirroring existing anti-terrorism legislation.
- Cooper stated that mass attacks, regardless of ideological motivation, can cause devastation comparable to terrorism and should be treated with similar seriousness.
- The legislation could have applied to cases like the Southport attacker, Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls and received a life sentence.