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Lizzie Dearden

@lizziedearden.bsky.social
36.6K followers 165 following 3.2K posts

Security correspondent at @theipaper.com, author of 'Plotters: The UK Terrorists Who Failed' Currently on maternity leave

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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
January 2025 🤷‍♀️
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If you're following the news around Andy Burnham's speech at the UN General Assembly on how Russia has "amplified far right narratives" and "tried to stoke tensions and unrest", here's a handy article on the targeting of the migration debate inews.co.uk/news/putin-i...
inews.co.uk
How Putin is inflaming immigration tensions to spark disorder in Britain
Counter-terror leaders reveal the tactics Russia is using to sow division in the UK
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Reposted by Lizzie Dearden
Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Over and out 🫡
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The Ministry of Defence has not said how long the relaxed vetting policy was in operation but Broadhurst's case indicates that it must have been at least between September 2022 and September 2024 It has now been rescinded and recruits must complete vetting to progress out of basic training
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
By the time Broadhurst was arrested by counter-terror police in September 2024, he had not raised any concerns within the Army, and in court produced 3 positive character references from superior officers The police came across him as an associate of this terror cell www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/w...
nytimes.com
British Neo-Nazis Discussed Targeting Migrants, Mosques and Synagogues
Three men in northern England were sentenced last week for preparing acts of terrorism. Their case highlights a growing threat from right-wing extremism, experts said.
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Mark Broadhurst applied to join the Army in 2022, was accepted and entered basic training in May 2023. He then worked as a chef at Catterick Garrison - Britain's largest army base He was a far-right extremist who made a gun and explosives at his home and was networking with a neo-Nazi terror cell
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The policy, which operated between at least 2022 and 2024, meant that new soldiers did not have to have vetting complete by the end of Phase 1 basic training and could go into Phase 2 specialist training with checks outstanding Phase 2 gives greater access to sensitive info, facilities & equipment
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Exclusive: The British Army secretly relaxed its vetting policy for at least 2 years, meaning recruits could pass into specialist training without completed checks A far-right extremist later convicted of terror offences was among 13,000 who joined during the period inews.co.uk/news/army-se...
inews.co.uk
Army secretly relaxed vetting - letting in far-right extremist who backed Russia
The revelation raises questions for British military who are a key target for Russian intelligence in Vladimir Putin's 'hybrid war'
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Exclusive: The Army secretly relaxed its vetting policy for at least 2 years, meaning recruits could pass through basic training into specialisms without completed checks A far-right extremist later convicted of terror offences was among 13,000 who joined during period inews.co.uk/news/army-se...
inews.co.uk
Army secretly relaxed vetting - letting in far-right extremist who backed Russia
The revelation raises questions for British military who are a key target for Russian intelligence in Vladimir Putin's 'hybrid war'
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I won't do it again until some point in 2027 at least
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Today is the start of my maternity leave, and how better to celebrate than with the publication of an absolutely massive scoop? I'll share as soon as it's out 👀
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“We all need little cells and for every member to take down a minimum of 100 subhumans,” Jennings wrote. “That's why a bomb or something at one of their gatherings is better but the method doesn't really matter.” Read the full story in our live blog and tomorrow's paper inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk
Andy Burnham warns of 'challenging' Budget amid tax rise speculation
Government will not 'take risks with people’s living standards or with the economy as a whole', Prime Minister vows
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Jennings, who pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism, had shared Mein Kampf and the Christchurch shooter's manifesto on Telegram He called for people to “take out” small boat migrants, as well as highlighting potential targets including an Manchester event for Pakistan independence day
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
His case is part of a much wider trend, where asylum seekers have become a key target for far-right terrorists I revealed earlier this year that a quarter of the terror attacks in Britain over the past decade have targeted Muslims or small boat migrants inews.co.uk/news/uk-terr...?
inews.co.uk
The UK terror attacks you don't hear about - and how they go under the radar
Some incidents are not being confirmed as terrorism for up to nine months, leaving the public unaware about the threat on British streets
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
While Piddington dominates the news, at Leicester Crown Court this man was sentenced today Ivan Jennings, a former Conservative councillor, called for terror attacks on small boat migrants and Muslims and shared target ideas, telling fellow white supremacists to kill as many “subhumans” as possible
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Yes, it's an aspect that tends to be completely overlooked by the public and in media coverage. The owners of The Bell Hotel in Epping were extremely frank about it These are my notes from their barrister's opening representations at a High Court hearing last August
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
If the government wants to fight criticism they need to reduce salience Getting the asylum backlog down is one way of doing that, another is maybe not triggering never ending news coverage by announcing large sites on former MoD bases around nimby rural villages and towns
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
First the furore was about hotels, so successive governments vowed to close them To do that the Tories and now Labour turned to costly and impractical large sites, which lead to Piddington situations, and increasing HMOs which have come under violent attack inews.co.uk/news/vigilan...
inews.co.uk
How far-right vigilantes are targeting asylum seekers as HMO attacks rise
Experts said the targeting of asylum seekers in houses 'represented a new escalation of anti-migrant harassment and violence'
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The government needs to learn there is no way of housing asylum seekers that will please a large section of the population, and even less so the hard right They should house people in the most practical way while focusing on processing claims fairly and efficiently, and maybe talk about it less
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Reposted by Lizzie Dearden
The i Paper @theipaper.com · 15/09/2026
Wednesday's front page: Russian spies 'recruiting UK teenagers' Read the full story: trib.al/6GHGjpb #TomorrowsPapersToday
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The ISD research says there are multiple indications linking the emerging groups and leaders with Russian intelligence and tried and tested techniques from proxy activity They seem to be making "a convenient pool of recruits [ready] to engage in acts of violence all over the world" more lethal
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It is part of a new umbrella group that launched in April, vowing to draw together groups with “different religions, different views, different actions [but] one goal” Posting in Russian and English, it claimed: “We help each other because we are all interested in only one result - chaos.”
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The group that posted the videos has already been named by the Security Service of Ukraine as a Russian intelligence operation It has offered to “sponsor” people to plan school shootings by buying weapons including guns and knives, and helping children plan their attacks and make explosives
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A common format sees teenagers in the networks carry out violent acts and signal their allegiance, for example by holding up pieces of paper or carving their group's name, in footage later posted online That tactic was used in 2 UK incidents where a car and house were vandalised earlier this year
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
These networks, where violence and extreme acts are pursued for their own sake, were originally led by English-speaking teenagers But research by the @isdglobal.bsky.social has chronicled an influx of Russians who have set up new groups offering payments for arson and to "sponsor" school shootings
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Exclusive: Russian intelligence agents are “hijacking” online networks of violence-obsessed children and offering them money, guns and coaching on making explosives and poisons, new research suggests At least two incidents have been claimed by the networks in the UK inews.co.uk/news/russian...
inews.co.uk
Russian spies 'recruiting UK teenagers' to carry out acts of violence and sabotage
Russian intelligence agents are “hijacking” online networks of violence-obsessed children and offering them money, guns and coaching on making explosives and poisons, new research suggests. Law enforc...
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Grim! Mostly it seems to be people jumping lights and taking shortcuts, particularly around junctions and roadworks But there also seems to be a trend of kids on e-bikes riding fully towards people and filming it for TikTok. Happened to me on the Southbank a couple of months ago
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It was bad before but it's been absolutely terrifying while I've been pregnant. I've had so many near misses, and once when I shouted at someone that I was pregnant and to leave more space (reasonable imo, this was on a *pavement*) he circled back and verbally abused me
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Horrid. I keep thinking I've got away with it every morning, and then in the afternoon the itching begins One was particularly inconsiderate and bit my face
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Is anyone else in London experiencing some sort of mosquito outbreak? Found 4 in my bedroom alone this morning 😵‍💫
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Awkward on a number of fronts, especially for terminology in political response and media coverage, but proclaiming not to be a protest movement doesn't actually change police obligations They are based on the rights of freedom of assembly and expression, rather than any definition of protest
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
He added: "The reality of public order policing is that arrests at the time are not always possible, especially where evidence may need to be reviewed" to identify offences In reference to RNLI, he said people from partner agencies did not "deserve to be singled out online or subjected to abuse"
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson said: “This morning’s arrest is the first of several anticipated arrests that we will make as part of this investigation.... “Clearly events on Sunday evening were not peaceful protest, rather violent public disorder, and this will not be tolerated."
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The first arrest has been made in relation to Patriot Platform protests - for a 42-year-old man accused of violent disorder and assaulting a police officer in Portsmouth Hampshire Constabulary says detectives are still reviewing footage and "cross-referencing to identify offences committed"
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
When it was abolished in the 1980s, the unlawful assembly offence was thought over-broad and unnecessary in England's security context As terror watchdog Jonathan Hall said, the laws here "are really designed to deal with violence and threats and do not apply so easily where the threat is implicit"
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In NI unlawful assembly covers 3 or more people gathering “to carry out any common purpose...in such a manner as to cause reasonable people to fear a breach of the peace” It was recently used where 50 men dressed in black and face coverings surrounded a community centre in Belfast before dispersing
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The confused response is partly being driven by the fact that Patriot Platform's tactics seem to be a new import inspired by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland There, this exact activity is covered by the offence of “unlawful assembly”, but the law was abolished in England and Wales in 1986
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
But there are practical and legal reasons why police may not make arrests under those powers, and different forces read the law differently Kent Police, for example, insists the Dover protest was peaceful and "lawful". Hampshire Police, by contrast, is trying to arrest offenders from Portsmouth
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There are more police powers to restrict protest than there have ever been, and several appear to apply to Patriot Platform tactics For example, it is an offence to obstruct highways, interfere with key national infrastructure like ports, or conceal identity with masks in areas designated by police
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Police say they are "ready to use every power at our disposal" against further Patriot Platform protests, following a meeting with the home secretary But complex human rights balancing exercises are still needed to use them - even for those with "obvious malign intent" inews.co.uk/news/no-mask...
inews.co.uk
No-mask zones and face scanning: Inside the operation to derail small-boats demos
Police have been told they are expected to make full use of their powers to stop protesters wearing face coverings following disturbances in Dover and Portsmouth
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Minnis is alleged to be a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps, which is proscribed by the UK government Cammidge was not asked to enter a plea at his first hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court today, and was remanded in custody ahead of an appearance at the Old Bailey later this month
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The prosecution case is that Minnis is "linked to the GRU Volunteer Corps, a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency" Cammidge has been charged with conduct "o materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK related activities" and preparing an act of sabotage
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A British man acting on behalf of a Russian proxy allegedly plotted with a contact in Swindon to sabotage a drone manufacturer Joshua Cammidge is accused of acting on instructions from Aiden Minnis, who has been fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine inews.co.uk/news/british...
inews.co.uk
British 'spy for Russia asked Swindon man to sabotage UK drone factory'
Prosecutors allege that Joshua Cammidge received instructions from Aiden Minnis, a British man fighting for Russia against Ukraine and believed to be linked to the GRU
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Reposted by Lizzie Dearden
The i Paper @theipaper.com · 09/09/2026
The Metropolitan Police is investigating whether Reform UK broke electoral law on foreign donations following a Channel 4 sting Read more: trib.al/IyavjsF
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Some of the incidents are detailed in this story I wrote earlier this year It's a real challenge for police www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/w...
nytimes.com
‘A Pyramid of Hate’: Why Racial and Religious Attacks Are Rising in Britain (Gift Article)
Islamophobic, antisemitic and racist crimes are being fueled by online disinformation, global instability and divisive political rhetoric, experts say.
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Incidents like this have happened with increasing regularity over the past couple of years, with many triggered by local misinformation about the arrival of non-white people at hotels But it has also happened elsewhere, including a church gathering in a park and a Scout trip to an activity centre
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
There have been so many bills containing new protest powers I was worried I'd lost track 😪
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Legal eagles on Bluesky - it's been a while since I fully nerded out on public order and I would love your help! I covered Ziegler at the time but is it still the case that protest provides a lawful excuse defence for highway obstruction, and have the police continued arresting for that offence?
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Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I received quite an unusual right of reply response for this story inews.co.uk/news/british...
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