Dr Paul Stott
Head of Security and Extremism
Dr Paul Stott joined Policy Exchange in August 2021, where he is Head of Security and Extremism. An experienced academic, he received his PhD in 2015 from the University of East Anglia, for research entitled ‘British Jihadism: The Detail and the Denial.” A prominent writer and commentator on terrorism, Islamism and the political fringe, his publications include “Iranian Influence networks in the UK: Audit and Analysis” (2021) and an examination of the 1999 London nail bombings “The White Wolves: The Terrorist Manifesto that wasn’t?” (2019).
Related Publications
Tehran Calling
Download Publication Online Reader A new report by Policy Exchange ‘Tehran calling: The Iranian threat to the UK’ exposes the extent to which the Islamic Republic of Iran poses a unique challenge to both the security and social cohesion of the United Kingdom. Iran is a hostile state in the style of Russia or China: it seeks to interfere with our online systems and takes British citizens hostage. Yet Iran […]
Schools out?
Download Publication Online Reader Schools out? Selected documents and analysis of the current school strikes This report serves as the first substantive analysis of the school strikes demanding a ceasefire in the Israel/Palestinian conflict, which spread across the country during November 2023. The strikes pose a challenge to the education system in three areas – participation in them is an unauthorised absence, in a period when school attendance […]
‘Blurred Lines: Police Staff Networks – politics or policing?’
Download Publication Online Reader The crisis in British policing continues. One of the central critiques of modern policing is that to many people it appears that robbers, drug dealers and fraudsters operate unfettered by the forces of law and order while police officers indulge in activities which too often fail to contribute to effective policing. This paper considers the role of the over 200 ‘Staff Networks’ operating within […]
The Trojan Horse Affair
Download Publication Online Reader A new report by Policy Exchange today exposes a concerted campaign to rewrite history around the “Trojan Horse” scandal, where hard-line activists Islamised state schools in Birmingham. In a foreword, two of those who tackled the problem and clashed at the time – Michael Gove, then Education Secretary, and Nick Timothy, then special adviser to the Home Secretary – come together to attack activist […]
Qatar: Friend or Frenemy?
Download Publication Online Reader The 2022 World Cup makes Qatar the centre of the world’s attention. This report utilises that interest to declare pertinent questions about Britain’s relationship with the tiny but wealthy gulf state. It queries how Qatar acts on the international stage and asks whether it is a ‘friend’ or ‘frenemy’ to the United Kingdom. Qatar has been an enthusiastic supporter of Islamist causes, but also […]
The ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests
Download Publication Online Reader An urgent new report released by Policy Exchange, ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests: A legal and policing quagmire’ sets out how the police can more effectively tackle the chaos that disruptive protests are bringing to our streets. Over the last month ‘Just Stop Oil’ protestors have brought London to a standstill – causing Criminal Damage, obstructing the highway, blocking ambulances and fire engines, disrupting Londoners from going about […]
Research Note: ‘The Lady of Heaven’
Download Publication Online Reader The system for appointing senior judges needs to be reformed. In this paper, we explain what has gone wrong and what should now be done to put it right. We take senior appointments to include the High Court, the Court of Appeal, leadership roles such as the Lord Chief Justice (the Head of the Judiciary in England and Wales) and Heads of Division (Master of the […]
Delegitimising Counter-Terrorism
Download Publication The Prevent counter-terrorism strategy is perhaps the most controversial government policy most people have never heard of. Public recognition of it is generally low, but opposition from Britain’s raucous Islamist scene, near total. From there, opposition has spread to sections of the far-left, and those parts of academia where Islamism and the revolutionary left intersect. This report, written by three experts on Islamism, outlines the campaign against Prevent, […]Related Blogs
George Galloway scores his electoral hat-trick: What next?
There are three big take-aways from events in Rochdale. Firstly George Galloway’s victory will inspire a series of challenges to Labour from pro-Palestinian candidates. This was happening anyway with Leanne Mohamad committed to standing against Wes Streeting in Ilford North, and Tasnime Akunjee taking on Rushanara Ali in Bethnal Green and Stepney. Those activists will have an extra spring in their step today, while Galloway claims to have been approached […]
The Queen’s Speech and Public Protest: The Government is not clamping down on the right to protest but rather on the deliberate disruption of the public square by small groups of privileged activists
The UK has a small but determined environmentalist movement characterised by its appetite for popular protest – and the diversity of its tactics. In the last twelve months these have ranged from the Tyre Extinguishers group letting down the tyres of private motor vehicles, Insulate Britain attempting to close the M25, Extinction Rebellion blockading Oxford Circus with a giant pink table, to Just Stop Oil protestors tying themselves to the […]
Fourteen questions for ministers and police emerging from the killing of Sir David Amess MP
Much of the attention following the killing of Sir David Amess MP has been focused on the rising volume of threats to MPs and the issue of online anonymity. These are very important, but a much broader set of questions around ideology is in danger of slipping from view. William Shawcross’ Independent Review of the counter-radicalisation Prevent strategy affords a major opportunity to address this imbalance and reset discussion in […]
British connections of banned French Islamic Charity BarakaCity revealed
A charity proscribed in France for inciting hatred in the wake of the Islamist beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty, has relocated to Turkey, whilst simultaneously stating it intends to develop its work in the United Kingdom, where it has had a base since at least 2016. BarakaCity (also written as Barakacity) headed by Idriss Sihamedi, is one of several organisations closed down by the French authorities since Paty’s beheading on […]
Environmentalist disruption shifts from the west end to the M25
Three times this week sections of the M25 have been closed by activists from the Insulate Britain group, demanding government take responsibility for insulating all social housing by 2025, and re-fitting all houses with low energy heating by 2030. The protests certainly succeeded in provoking a reaction. Video footage of angry motorists scuffling with demonstrators and being ordered back to their trapped cars by police offices soon went viral, as […]