The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Plotters: The UK Terrorists Who Failed, Lizzie Dearden

Plotters: The UK Terrorists Who Failed

Lizzie Dearden

Since 2017, the UK has seen fifteen terrible terrorist attacks. But the atrocities on our evening news are the tip of a vast iceberg. Security services are striving to contain a staggering 3,000 jihadists, far-right extremists and other potential threats. We are in a new age of terror, with self-radicalizing, hard-to-categorize individuals planning violence--but each one caught by the British state tells us something about British society.

For every successful plot in the six years since Westminster Bridge, more than twice as many have been foiled. Some were thwarted by nerve-wracking undercover operations; others were narrowly averted by heroic citizens, or ruined by the absurd mistakes of would-be attackers. Invariably, the all-too-human stories of these failed terrorists reveal the true picture of UK extremism.

Through interviews with senior counter-terror figures and astonishing court testimony, Plotters unpacks how and why British terror attacks happen--and don't. From dating websites and prison cells to Telegram networks and Tesco knives, Lizzie Dearden's deep dive offers one disturbing certainty: the plotters will keep coming. To confront them, we need to understand them.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Hurst & Co.
  • Publish Date: Jun 1st, 2023
  • Pages: 272
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.48in - 6.57in - 0.98in - 1.08lb
  • EAN: 9781787389298
  • Categories: Political Ideologies - RadicalismViolence in Society

More books to explore

Book Cover for: Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire, Pankaj Mishra
Book Cover for: Waco Rising: David Koresh, the Fbi, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias, Kevin Cook
Book Cover for: Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, Rebecca Solnit
Book Cover for: Disobedience and Democracy: Nine Fallacies on Law and Order, Howard Zinn
Book Cover for: Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy, Talia Lavin
Book Cover for: Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, Rebecca Solnit
Book Cover for: Bloodbath Nation, Paul Auster
Book Cover for: Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (and Everything Else), Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
Book Cover for: Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy, Jennifer Carlson
Book Cover for: Waco Rising: David Koresh, the Fbi, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias, Kevin Cook
Book Cover for: How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them, Barbara F. Walter
Book Cover for: Sisters in Hate: American Women and White Extremism, Seyward Darby
Book Cover for: American Radicals: How Nineteenth-Century Protest Shaped the Nation, Holly Jackson
Book Cover for: Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, Adrienne Maree Brown
Book Cover for: Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, Kathleen Belew

About the Author

Lizzie Dearden is The Independent's Home Affairs Editor. She has been covering terror attacks, prosecutions and extremism of all kinds in the UK, in depth, since 2017. Lizzie is also a long-term observer of global terrorism trends; she previously reported on Isis-inspired attacks in Europe and elsewhere.

Praise for this book

"A deeply fascinating, highly informative and entertaining account of an overlooked subject. This brilliant book offers unique insights into the stories of would-be terrorists and foiled plots that could have changed the course of Britain's recent history." -- Julia Ebner, author of Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists"Plotters gives a useful overview of the demographic and ideological composition of the current terrorist threat... This is, of course, a serious book, but it is also darkly funny." -- The Guardian"[Plotters] unravels the story behind the terrifying--and sometimes Four Lions-style comically bizarre--British terror attacks that have fortunately failed since 2017. Dearden ... offers a disturbing, powerful account of the changing profile of the terrorist." -- The Independent"Dearden paints a disturbing portrait of today's terrorists, but even more chilling is her account of the near-misses, where only good intelligence and smart policing has saved us from further tragedies." -- Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, and author of Securing the State"Excellent reporting and analysis that puts the threat of terrorism in perspective by revealing its often-hidden dimension: the many plots that fail on their own, or are foiled by the authorities." -- Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University"An alarming portrait of the terror threat the UK faces in all its confusing complexity." -- Raffaello Pantucci, author of 'We Love Death As You Love Life': Britain's Suburban Terrorists?"Terrorists try to present themselves as ruthless and calculating; Plotters shows that most of them are sad, lonely and inept. Yet these stories also reveal the enormous challenges facing the security services trying to keep us safe. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about terrorism, beyond the headlines."--Brendan Cox, anti-terror campaigner"A compelling deep dive into UK terrorism and counterterrorism."--Petter Nesser, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, and author of Islamist Terrorism in Europe"A fascinating, forensic and highly engaging account of the diverse lives, motivations and backgrounds of Britain's terrorist plotters?and the impossible challenge facing the police and intelligence agencies in trying to stop each and every one of them. This is a must-read."--Dame Sara Khan DBE, former UK Counter-Extremism Commissioner"A gripping, vivid and important book. By expertly analyzing foiled and failed terrorist plots, Dearden presents highly original insight into the complex phenomenon of modern terrorism." -- Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work? A History"A meticulously researched and extremely readable deep dive into the motivations and methods of our growing population of thwarted violent extremists." -- CapX"A well-researched and compelling book that sheds insight into the thinking and techniques of both terrorists and counter-terror operatives." -- Morning Star