MI5 Director General warns of 3D-printed guns by far-right extremists
The Director General of MI5, the counter-intelligence and security agency, has warned of far-right extremists utilising 3D-printed guns.
Ken McCallum spoke of a danger of violence, adding that teenagers as young as thirteen are being recruited amid a “confused soup of hate” online spread by “right-wing extremist influencers”.
He added that MI5 had expressed concern over the far-right’s intent to procure “firearms in particular, whether illegally obtained, homemade or 3D-printed”.
“From the comfort of their bedrooms, individuals are easily able to access right-wing extremist spaces, network with each other and move towards a radical mindset,” he said. “Often weapons are sought for their own sake, well in advance of any specific targeting intent developing, making for difficult risk management judgments and forcing early intervention.”
Last year, a teenage neo-Nazi was jailed for eleven years after using the social media platform Telegram in his plan to kill his former friend, who is Asian, for allegedly sleeping with white women. The Old Bailey heard that Matthew Cronjager had attempted to obtain a 3D-printed gun or a sawn-off shotgun to commit the murder.
Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.