British authorities have imposed a full asset freeze against the extreme-right group Blood and Honour as part of its first domestic restrictive measures agenda against right-wing terrorism.
PM Keir Starmer’s government, in a statement released, said it suspected the body “of being involved in terrorist activities”. The sanctions freeze Blood and Honour’s assets and make it unlawful for anyone in the UK to submit funding or financial services.
The sanctions also expand to the group’s handles, which include Combat 18 and 28 Radio.
“The designation of Blood and Honour is a clear signal that the UK works proactively to stop terrorist financing and will take action against any who try to exploit the UK financial system for this activity,”
the UK government stated.
It is suspected that Blood and Honour engage in a host of terrorist activities, including spreading and inciting terrorism, recruiting people for these activities, and channelling money into such operations. The asset freeze bars all financial transactions connected with Blood and Honour within the UK. Therefore, no citizen of Britain shall provide funding or financial services to the group without a license from HM Treasury.
Founded in 1987 by Ian Stuart Donaldson, lead singer of the skinhead band Skrewdriver, Blood and Honour borrowed its name from a Nazi slogan used by the Hitler Youth. It is affiliated with neo-Nazi ideologies and has been involved in activities for which it was under fire before.
The British government, through the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, made mention of this as a step towards proactively tackling the financing of terrorism, indicating a readiness to deal with extreme right-wing groups. This move comes amidst broader concerns over rising extremism in various forms across Europe.
UK Authorities have increased the surveillance of online sites to combat the proliferation of extreme-right propaganda and recruitment activities. This is in partnership with the tech companies that avoid their sites being utilized for extremist uses. The UK has developed the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. This helps make listings of persons or entities engaged in terrorism, enabling it to quickly freeze their assets and curb all their financial activities.
