Latest terrorism-related arrest data released by Home Office

When not including Palestine Action results, the data shows that there continues to be a significant number of young people involved in police casework, with 39 individuals aged 17 and under being arrested in connection with counter-terrorism investigations in 2025 (down just one from 40 the previous year).  

While men and boys still make up the highest volume of arrests – 92% of the overall number, in fact – the number of women and girls being arrested has more than halved from 19% in 2024 to 8% in 2025.  

As at the end of last year, there were 267 people in custody for terrorism and terrorism-connected offences in Britain. This is actually the highest number since comparable records began, surpassing the previous peak of 266 individuals the year before.

Stark reminder

Vicki Evans, senior national co-ordinator for Prevent and Pursue at Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “The latest statistics are a stark reminder of the enduring threat of terrorism and how important it is that we continue to detect and disrupt plots against our communities.”  

Evans continued: “During 2025, we saw some significant results through the courts, with life sentences handed out to those who had planned the most atrocious attacks, but were thankfully foiled by the efforts of Counter Terrorism Policing officers and staff. One of these was the conviction of three men in December last year following a foiled plot to attack the Jewish community in Manchester. The men involved were sentenced in January this year, with two of them receiving life sentences.”   

Further, Evans observed: “Another included a man given a life sentence with a minimum of 16 years for planning an attack against a mosque and a bookshop in the city. Another involved three men who were part of an online extreme right-wing group who discussed targets for harassment and attacks, including mosques, Islamic education centres and synagogues. They were sentenced to a combined 29 years in prison, while another case saw a man sentenced to 15 years for sharing Daesh propaganda and encouraging terrorism.”  

In addition, Evans explained: “A clear marker of this successful activity is the record number of people in custody for terrorism-related offences at the end of 2025. Our teams work with the Security Services to do incredible things every day to stop the horror of terrorism spilling on to our streets. The latest Home Office figures reflect the success of those efforts.”

Late-stage attacks

Since the start of 2020, Counter Terrorism Policing and the UK’s Intelligence Services have disrupted 19 late-stage attacks, with levels of investigations and casework growing. 

Alongside the counter-terrorism efforts, Counter Terrorism Policing is seeing increasing demand linked to its other missions, most notably in terms of countering state threats, which accounts for more than 20% of its casework, and war crimes. Indeed, demand on the War Crimes Team has increased by  50% since 2020.

Vicki Evans said: “So much of our successes come from the proactive role that members of the public play in reporting concerns. This could be seeing something that concerns them when they are out and about, coming across harmful content online or being worried about a loved one.”  

Evans concluded: “We know how seriously the public takes terrorism. This includes the 25,000 reports from the public through the Anti-Terror hotline and online portal in 2025 alone. This feeds into the investigations we run and subsequent arrests that we make. We would like to thank everyone who has stepped up and reported concerns to us over the last year.”