UK Dangerous Alliances: Terrorists and Organised Criminals Breeding a New Threat in UK Prisons

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Dangerous Alliances: How British Prisons Are Breeding a New Threat

 

Inside some of Britain’s most secure prisons, a dangerous alliance is forming between terrorists and organised criminals. A new study has revealed that extremist inmates are teaching fellow prisoners how to make bombs, while in return learning how to launder money, use the dark web, and access illegal weapons. This illicit exchange of skills, operating beneath the radar of prison authorities, has been labelled a serious and growing threat to national security.

 

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, condemned the situation, calling it a “complete failure of leadership.” He warned, “Extremists and career criminals now operate with near impunity inside some of this country’s highest-security prisons. When Islamist terrorists and organised crime figures are left to forge alliances, we aren’t just witnessing a security lapse – we’re watching a national threat incubate in plain sight. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

 

The research, conducted by Dr Hannah Bennett, involved interviews with prison officers, ex-governors, counter-terrorism officials and prisoners. It reveals how the barriers between different types of offenders are eroding, allowing for unprecedented collaboration between ideologically motivated extremists and profit-driven criminals. The outcome is what Bennett terms the “prison crime-terror nexus.”

 

“Some prisoners are coming out knowing how to make a bomb,” Bennett explained. “Others are learning how to use the dark web or commit financial crime. For many, it’s about protection – but it’s also about opportunity.”

 

This shift in prison culture has raised alarms, particularly in facilities where corruption, violence, and poor oversight are rampant. These are the so-called “black hole” prisons, where order has broken down and inmates are left largely to govern themselves. Bennett warns that these conditions provide fertile ground for dangerous partnerships to flourish.

 

The findings have received strong backing from Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and senior Home Office official. He said, “We have several ‘black hole’ prisons where a combination of weak authority, inexperience and poor leadership means the state has effectively surrendered the environment to prisoners.” In these settings, he added, “ideologically inspired offenders and organised crime leaders can mix freely,” creating an enduring risk to national security.

 

Bennett’s study goes further, noting that such collaborations do not always end at the prison gates. Released inmates have continued hybrid activity, sometimes joining gangs with ideological leanings or helping terrorist networks evade surveillance. She highlighted historical precedents, such as the 2004 Madrid bombings, which were funded through drug trafficking, and al-Qaeda’s past use of credit card fraud to raise money.

 

The report calls for urgent reform of prison intelligence strategies, including improved training for staff, clearer definitions of the crime-terror nexus, and the development of a structured tool to assess which prisons are most at risk. “The risk is not just ideological or criminal – it’s both,” Bennett concluded. “If we continue to treat them in silos, we’re going to miss what’s happening in the overlap.”

 

In a commentary accompanying the study, Acheson noted that during his time in the prison service, efforts were focused on preventing traditional criminals from networking. But the landscape has changed, with terrorists now entering the system in increasing numbers. “The idea they cannot co-operate is dangerously naive and woefully under-researched,” he wrote.

 

He pointed to cases like the early 1990s escape attempt at Whitemoor prison, where IRA terrorists conspired with a London gangster to break free. Today’s high-security facilities—Belmarsh, Frankland, Long Lartin and Whitemoor—host both terror offenders and gang leaders, often in close proximity. The opportunity for collaboration is real, and the state’s control is, in many instances, tenuous.

 

Drones delivering drugs are now commonplace, and with enough organisation, they could easily smuggle in weapons or explosives. “We are closer to this reality than any official is prepared to admit,” Acheson warned.

 

Bennett’s framework offers a means of identifying where these dangerous convergences are most likely to happen. But as Acheson noted, the broader system must be willing to act. “It is vital that meticulous research like Dr Bennett’s is seen and considered by ministers and not through the lens of bureaucrats who have allowed this nexus to flourish. Terrorists and organised criminals have worked together before and will do so again. The stakes are very high.”

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Daily Telegraph  2025-07-10