[UK] counter-terror police have warned the activity of hostile states on British soil is posing a growing threat and urged families to watch for signs their children are being manipulated.

Teenagers, along with petty criminals and disillusioned people, may be more vulnerable to recruitment by Russia, Iran and China, they warned.

Hostile states are increasingly using proxies to carry out acts of sabotage and targeted violence in the UK, counter-terror police said, adding that investigating such activity now accounts for about 20% of their workload.

Parents and teachers should “be inquisitive” and “seek help” if they think a child is at risk, police advised.

Since the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 – which targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal – there has been a five-fold increase in police work to tackle hostile activity, commanders said.

“The breadth, complexity and volume of these operations has continued to grow at a rate that I’m not sure that us, or our partners internationally, or any intelligence community predicted,” Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, told reporters.

“We are increasingly seeing these three states, but not just these three states, undertaking threat to life operations in the United Kingdom.”

[…]

The Metropolitan Police is now putting additional resources into tackling hostile state activity, with training for officers in “foreign interference” and hundreds taking part in recent exercises in how to respond.

“We’re working with local force chiefs up and down the country to raise awareness and ensure that there really is an increased understanding about this threat,” Ms Evans said.

[…]