The Home Office published its final quarterly statistics on the use of terrorism powers on 8 October. They show 3,867 terrorism-related arrests in Great Britain in the year to June 2026 and 275 people in custody for terrorism and terrorism-connected offences, the highest level since comparable records began.
What the Home Office reports
The release counts 3,867 arrests in the year ending June 2026, against 234 in the year ending June 2025, a rise of 1,553 per cent. Of those, 3,630 (94 per cent) were linked to supporting Palestine Action, which was proscribed on 5 July 2025. That leaves 237 other arrests. Of those, 57 fell in April to June 2026, up 39 per cent on the 41 recorded in January to March 2026.
The release says 704 of the 3,867 arrests have so far resulted in a charge, 18 per cent. It notes that figures may be revised as cases progress.
What the figures show
On custody, 275 people were held for terrorism and terrorism-connected offences at 30 June 2026, up from 257 a year earlier. By ideology, 157 (57 per cent) were categorised as holding Islamist-extremist views, 80 (29 per cent) extreme right-wing ideologies and 38 (14 per cent) other ideologies. The Islamist-extremist count is unchanged from a year earlier. The extreme right-wing count is five higher.
The release says 46 people aged 17 and under were arrested for terrorism-related activity in the year, the second highest figure since records began in 2001. The highest was 54, in the year ending September 2025.
Stop and search under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 by the Metropolitan Police Service rose 45 per cent, from 74 persons to 107. The release describes it as the first year-on-year increase since the year ending June 2019. Persons subject to Schedule 7 examinations rose 4 per cent to 2,550.
The Home Office says this is the final quarterly release. The series moves to a six-monthly schedule.
What the release does not say
It does not report the national terrorism threat level, and it describes arrests, not attacks or plots. The Palestine Action arrests dominate the headline total, so the 237 other arrests are the better guide to the wider caseload. The Ops Con covered the Home Office disruptive powers report for calendar year 2025 on 15 October. This release covers a different period, the year to June 2026, and the two sets of figures are not interchangeable.
What it means for operators
These are Ops Con planning points, not Home Office guidance.
Do not read the arrest total as a measure of risk to a principal. Most of the rise comes from arrests linked to one proscribed group, and the Home Office reports those separately from the rest.
The non-Palestine Action arrests and the custody population are the better indicators. Custody is at a record, the ideology mix is shifting at the margin, and under-18 arrests are near their peak. Advance work and venue vetting should assume a mixed picture rather than one dominant source.
The rise in Metropolitan Police stop and search under section 43 is small in absolute terms, 107 stops, but it is the first year-on-year increase since the year ending June 2019.
