Terrorism arrests skyrocket under Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been in power for just over 12 months. During that time, the number of arrests made under terrorism legislation have risen to their highest level on record:

🚨 BREAKING | 1,339 people have now been arrested on "terrorism" charges in 2025, with almost all of them busted for holding signs at pro-Palestine protests.

This is more than any year on record, by far.

(Source: Home Office) pic.twitter.com/c7Al12DYHa

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) September 7, 2025

This sharp increase begs the question: are UK citizens facing a significantly increased risk of terrorism?

Or is something else going on?

Increased terror risk?

The graph above is provided by Stats for Lefties. In their own words, the 1,339 figure for 2025 is “an approximate estimate”:

as several dozen people were arrested at protests outside of London (e.g. Norwich). In addition, more London protests are expected. So when figures are officially released it will likely be well over 2,000 when the year concludes.

The estimate includes figures from this past weekend when the Metropolitan police arrested hundreds of people:

As Stats for Lefties makes clear, the figures for previous years are taken straight from the Home Office. Here’s their graph for the years going back to 2002:

Given the stratospheric increase, you might come to the conclusion that terror is a bigger problem under Keir Starmer than it was during the ISIS years (i.e. when blowback from the illegal invasion of Iraq led to a wave of related terror attacks).

Numbers alone don’t tell the full story, though.

The elephant in the room over terrorism arrests

As Stats for Lefties made clear, the majority of terror arrests relate to people supporting Palestine Action. Many of those suspected of terrorist charges have been pictured online:

This is the @metpoliceuk arresting a "terrorist"

This is beyond a joke. pic.twitter.com/Q6TwuZqvNG

— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) August 9, 2025

Hundreds arrested – from veterans to vicars – and will be charged with Terror offences for peacefully protesting the proscription of Palestine Action.

It simply can not be in the public interest to prosecute RAF veterans like Steve.

The law is not just asinine, it is broken. https://t.co/Vr7r0UzLwt

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) September 6, 2025

A vicar is amongst the final people arrested after several hundreds were detained under the Terrorism Act for holding signs.

When civil society is prepared to face 'terror' arrests, it couldn't be clearer that the Palestine Action ban is a mistake of poll tax proportions. pic.twitter.com/U00tGJoiuP

— Defend Our Juries (@DefendourJuries) September 6, 2025

If they truly represent a terror threat to UK citizens, that’s very concerning, because many of them seem to have evaded arrest for decades given their advanced age. Just imagine how experienced they must be at this point.

If they don’t represent a terror threat to UK citizens, the question must be asked: why are we policing them as if they do?

The government response (or lack thereof)

The Canary approached Number 10 and the Home Office for comment over the terrorism figures. Number 10 made it clear that this was a question for the Home Office, which is fair enough, although given the steep increase in terror arrests, we do think Keir Starmer should have to answer for this situation (especially true given the fact he’s such a control freak).

After speaking with a Home Office press officer, we presented the following questions (emphasis added):

When compared to other years (as recorded by the Home Office), the number of arrests made under terror legislation in 2025 is more than double that of any other year on record. According to some estimates, it’s actually even higher than that.

In light of this:

Does the Home Office have any comment on this rise?

Does the Home Office believe this sharp increase in terror-related arrests means UK citizens are significantly more at risk of a terror attack?

Does the Home Office expect the number of terror-related offences to reduce?

If yes:

What is the Home Office’s target date for this reduction?

What level does it expect terror-related arrests to reduce to?

How does the Home Office intend to achieve this reduction?

At the time of writing, we haven’t heard back from anyone, but it’s clear why they wouldn’t want to answer the highlighted question.

If the Home Office says the arrests are justified and UK citizens are facing an increased risk of terror, it’s another way life has worsened under Keir Starmer.

If the Home Office says there’s no increased risk to UK citizens, why the hell are we treating peaceful protesters like terrorists?

There is no good to answer to this question, and so seemingly they’ve decided to ignore it.

We’ll let you know if they get back to us, but in the meantime please to follow Stats for Lefties on Twitter and Bluesky to keep up with their latest analysis.

Featured image via Number 10