Eastern Eye Article - We prosecute terrorists no matter what their background or beliefs
Sue Hemming
Head of Counter Terrorism Division
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
The recent conviction of neo-Nazi extremists Michael Heaton and Trevor Hannington serves yet again to dispel the myth that terrorism prosecutions are focussed on the Muslim community. Both were convicted on race hate charges last week for their roles in the far-right extremist group Aryan Strike Force (ASF). Before his trial, Hannington had also pleaded guilty to six charges including offences of possessing and disseminating terrorist publications.
We at the CPS prosecute without fear or favour, regardless of a suspect's ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, political views, gender, age or sexual orientation. It is important the public understand that.
The Crown Prosecution Service is an independent authority responsible for charging all but the most straightforward criminal cases and prosecuting the vast majority of criminal cases in England and Wales - around a million a year. We decide if there is sufficient evidence to take a case to court in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors – a key document which explains how prosecutors make decisions on every kind of criminal case from shoplifting to murder. The Code explains that a prosecutor needs to have sufficient evidence to afford a ‘realistic prospect of a conviction' before he or she can move forward with a case. If there is sufficient evidence, prosecutors must then decide if the prosecution is in the public interest. Terrorism related cases are nearly always likely to be in the public interest.
Heaton and Hannington were members of the Aryan Strike Force (ASF) - a far-right group which advocates violence as a means of eliminating non-white races, Jews, Muslims and others from the UK. The Counter Terrorism Division dealt with this case from the very start, using our in-depth knowledge and experience of this group from an earlier case. As members of the ASF, they were closely associated with Ian Davison who was recently convicted of preparing for acts of terrorism and of producing the poison Ricin. They enjoyed similar links with his son, Nicky Davison, who was also convicted of terrorism offences. Both father and son were involved with the ASF website. Bringing this case to court took time, dedication and specialist skills from the lawyers and caseworkers in my team – all of whom are specially trained to address complexities common to terrorism and race hate cases. One of our lawyers appeared in court alongside leading counsel to prosecute.
Terrorism makes up the majority of our work but my Division also deals with all allegations of incitement to racial and religious hatred, war crimes and crimes against humanity, official secrets cases, and hijacking as similar skills are required to handle such work. In particular, our prosecutors understand the wider community impact of these cases and need the ability to work closely, but independently, with the police and other agencies. They also have legal skills to interpret complex domestic and international law and obtain information and evidence from abroad.
Some of the offences we advise suspects should be charged with include: preparing for acts of terrorism, training for terrorism, dissemination of terrorist publications, possessing information for terrorist purposes, failing to disclose information which a person knows or believes might be of material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism, and conspiracy to cause explosions.
It is the job of my Division to protect everyone in our society from terrorism, and to this end we speak to communities so that we are aware of their concerns and can feed useful information back about convictions. We have set up two Community Involvement Panels - one on Violent Extremism and one on War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, where prosecutors discuss and consult with representatives from community groups and NGOs. We have a web page where we provide information on the cases we prosecute and we attend forums, meetings and conferences to reassure the public and organisations about our role and how we work.
No matter what the background or motivation of a defendant, my Division uses terrorism legislation to prosecute only where it is appropriate to do so. This is why, if you look behind the headlines, you will find a range of ideologies in the cases we have dealt with in the last two years. They include white supremacist Neil Lewington from Reading who was convicted of terrorism and explosives offences; Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle from Hull who were publishing anti-Semitic material; far right extremist Martyn Gilleard and Tamil Tigers supporter Aranachalam Chrishanthakumar.
I want the public to know that it is the strength of evidence which moves our cases to court. A defendant's personal beliefs may form part of a terrorism case, but they will never be the reason why the case came to court in the first place and we do not single out one group more than another.
30 June 2010
