Counter-terrorism strategy

About the counter-terrorism strategy

The key aim of the counter-terrorism strategy is to reduce the risk from international terrorism so that people can go about their business freely and with confidence.

Who is involved?

Developing and delivering the Government's counter-terrorism strategy involves stakeholders from across government departments, the emergency services, voluntary organisations, the business sector and partners from across the world. Read more about working with partners.

What is the strategy based on?

Since early 2003, the United Kingdom has had a long-term strategy for countering international terrorism (known within Government as CONTEST). Its aim is to reduce the risk from international terrorism, so that people can go about their daily lives freely and with confidence. The strategy is divided into four principal strands: Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Prepare.

Prevent

The Prevent strand is concerned with tackling the radicalisation of individuals, both in the UK and elsewhere, which sustains the international terrorist threat. The Government seek to do this by:

• tackling disadvantage and supporting reform by addressing structural problems in the UK and overseas that may contribute to radicalisation, such as inequalities and discrimination
• deterring those who facilitate terrorism and those who encourage others to become terrorists by changing the environment in which the extremists and those radicalising others can operate
• engaging in the battle of ideas by challenging the ideologies that extremists believe can justify the use of violence, primarily by helping Muslims who wish to dispute these ideas to do so

Pursue

The Pursue strand is concerned with reducing the terrorist threat to the UK and to UK interests overseas by disrupting terrorists and their operations. It has a number of aspects:

• gathering intelligence and improving our ability to identify and understand the terrorist threat
• disrupting terrorist activity and taking action to frustrate terrorist attacks and to bring terrorists to justice through prosecution and other means, including strengthening the legal framework against terrorism
• international co-operation by working with partners and allies overseas to strengthen our intelligence effort and achieve disruption of terrorists outside the UK

Protect

The Protect strand is concerned with reducing the vulnerability of the UK and UK interests overseas to a terrorist attack. This covers a range of issues including:

• strengthening border security, so that terrorists and those who inspire them can be prevented from travelling here and we can get better intelligence about suspects who travel, including improving our identity management
• protecting key utilities by working with the private sector
• transport; reducing the risk and impact of attacks through security and technological advances
• crowded places; protecting people going about their daily lives

Prepare

The Prepare strand is concerned with ensuring that the UK is as ready as it can be for the consequences of a terrorist attack. The key elements are:

• identifying the potential risks the UK faces from terrorism and assessing their impact
• building the necessary capabilities to respond to attacks
• continually evaluating and testing our preparedness, including through identifying lessons from exercises and real-life events