new anti terror strategy

Changing technology means the prospect of a chemical or biological terrorist attack in Britain is now more realistic, says the government's updated counter-­terrorism strategy published today.
It also discloses that serious ­preparations are under way in the UK to protect against the use of roadside bombs and other "novel homemade explosives" imported from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The document confirms that the government intends to challenge radical views that "reject and undermine our shared values and jeopardise community cohesion" and it will do this by supporting groups and projects through the £70m-a-year Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) programme.
The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said the government had no intention of outlawing such views or criminalising those who hold them, but she added: "We will not hear these views in silence. We should all stand up for our shared values and not concede the floor to those who dismiss them."
The document defines those who reject "shared values" as scorning the institutions and values of parliamentary democracy, dismissing the rule of law, and promoting intolerance and discrimination on the basis of race, faith, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Smith said those who publicly voiced homophobic views would be open to challenge.
The home secretary said the measures would ensure that local authorities understood the risk to community cohesion posed by some organisations.
The clarification of the PVE programme follows a decision by the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, to sever ties with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) after she alleged one leading member signed an international declaration supporting the Palestinian group Hamas and "called for direct support for acts of violence in the Middle East and beyond".
The MCB has refused to distance itself from Dr Daud Abdullah, has condemned the killing of soldiers anywhere in the world, and said it would not be dictated to by Blears.
The home secretary voiced serious concerns about the impact in Britain of the deteriorating situation in Pakistan where al-Qaida and groups affiliated to the Taliban are rapidly gaining influence in the federally administered tribal areas.
The strategy notes that in some cases terror cells in the UK have had training and direction from Pakistan-based groups, and in many of the important attempted operations conspirators have travelled to and from Pakistan as part of the preparations. Home Office counter-terrorism officials are to travel to the capital, Islamabad, next week to discuss further potential measures.
Senior Whitehall officials say the warning about the increased likelihood of a chemical or biological attack rests on changing technology, and increased theft and smuggling of such materials which makes the aspirations of contemporary terrorist groups "more realistic than they have been in the past".
The Home Office said it was also "working to ensure" that the lessons learned in Iraq about dealing with roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices were being reflected in domestic counter-terrorism work.