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Could calling attacks like Southport terrorism help prevent them?

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declared "terrorism has changed" and Britain is facing a "new threat" But what the prime minister described has been happening for years , says Barnaby Jameson KC .

Counter-terror police have investigated plots that are not defined as terrorism.

MI5 and police are currently devoting increasing time to investigating state espionage in the UK , particularly from Russia , Iran and China .

But the central focus for police and MI5 is terrorism as defined by the law, rather than a broader group of people presenting a more general risk of violence.

Counter-extremism police have been registering their concerns about this group for years .

Government could consider broadening the definition of terrorism or creating new offences to tackle the threat of violence from non-terror offenders.

A large group of people - about whom there are real concerns - neither end up in Prevent , nor being investigated by MI5 or counter-terror police.

The prime minister said this week it may be that such people are "harder to spot".