CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "The Home Secretary has admitted a thing that has long been known to those of us without close protection officers: that in many communities, people often feel that ‘crime has no consequences’. "

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "he spasm of violent disorder that has gripped England and Northern Ireland over the last week has thrown the issue of prison capability back into the spotlight. Before the brutal murders of three children in Southport, it looked just about possible for our national jail service, running at 99% capacity, to stagger over the line in September when the reduction in time served by the incoming government from 50% to 40% took hold and gave some respite."

Former prison governor Ian Acheson, an adviser to think tank the Counter Extremism Project, told the BBC he was “completely against” terrorism charges being considered. He said: 'I think giving these people an ideological justification for what they’ve done is profoundly dangerous. These are common criminals. These are people who’ve tried to incinerate human beings in hotels. They have looted vape shops, they’ve burned down libraries. There’s no ideological coherence behind any of that. 'These are common thugs, and they need to be treated as such, as they were back in 2011, and they need to be given exemplary sentences, because there’s a lot of debate to be had about the societal drivers for all of this, but for now the state has to get back in control.'”

“... Former prison governor Ian Acheson, an adviser to think tank the Counter Extremism Project, told the BBC he was "completely against" terrorism charges being considered. He said: "I think giving these people an ideological justification for what they've done is profoundly dangerous. These are common criminals. These are people who've tried to incinerate human beings in hotels. They have looted vape shops, they've burned down libraries. There's no ideological coherence behind any of that. "These are common thugs, and they need to be treated as such, as they were back in 2011, and they need to be given exemplary sentences, because there's a lot of debate to be had about the societal drivers for all of this, but for now the state has to get back in control.”

"Indeed, the tenant of 10 Downing Street is under pressure to strengthen control of companies operating in the information technology sector. Pressure has intensified after the publication of information about the involvement of foreign countries in the dissemination of fake news in the United Kingdom. Ian Acheson, a specialist at the think-tank "Counter Extremism Project", indicates that the current riots show the urgency of putting in place tighter control over social networks."

"Experts like Ian Acheson of the Counter Extremism Project stress the urgent need for tighter regulation of social media. They say it is imperative that those who spread extremism are held accountable. Andrew Fox, an analyst at the Henry Jackson Society, points out that the current riots are a direct result of far-right discourse fueled by fake news."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "The last comparable period of civil disorder in this country happened in 2011. Then as now, the courts acted with speed and severity to try to quell five days of rioting in multiple locations, which traumatised the nation, caused hundreds of millions in damage and injured more than three hundred officers. The head of the Crown Prosecution Service at the time was one Keir Starmer. Now, as prime minister, he seeks again to confront the horrific street violence with the same apparent energy and determination. But can a punitive response work to stop violence that has at times threatened to overwhelm the police? Times have changed, and our criminal justice system is in tatters."