A new app has been launched to help Londoners report terrorist material online more easily and anonymously.

The iREPORTit app has been launched by London Mayor Sadiq Khan with £40,000 of City Hall funding.

As of this morning (Wednesday, February 24), it will allow users to flag online material directly to the national counter terrorism police.

The project follows concerns that the pandemic has created fertile grounds for extremists to exploit isolated and vulnerable people.

Recent research also revealed that four out of five Londoners were unsure how to report extremist material from internet search engines.

Sadiq Khan said they know "terrorists and extremists are set on exploiting the uncertainty and anxiety caused by the pandemic for their own gain."

"With more people than ever online for longer periods, often at home alone or in isolated environments, I’m determined to do everything I can to counter that threat and help keep Londoners safe."

City Hall says the new app "recognises that we all have a part to play in rooting out terrorist material online," and will be free to download on Apple and Android devices.

It allows Londoners, and those across the country, to flag any terrorist material online in three quick steps, with reports going directly to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.

Attacks last year in Reading and Streatham are also referenced, "alongside multiple plots foiled by the police and security services," proving that terrorism is still a real threat to our communities.

There will be a three-month pilot period reviewed by the unit, with success to be measured by the number of downloads, referrals and quality of referrals.

City Hall referenced attacks last year in Reading and Streatham, alongside multiple plots foiled by the police and security services, which "prove terrorism is still a real threat to communities".

Research during the second wave of the pandemic found whilst nearly three quarters of Londoners (74 per cent) believe that social media companies should be doing more to combat extremism on their sites, less than half knew how to get it removed from those sites (42 per cent).

It also found that 81 per cent of all Londoners either would not know or were unsure how to get online extremist material taken down from popular internet search engines.2

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “Every time a member of public sends the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit a link to material which is terrorist or extremist in nature, they are helping police in the international fight against terrorism.

“So I welcome this new app which offers the public another way to report material, in addition to the existing reporting tools.

“Specialist officers are ready and waiting to look at each and every single referral sent via the app.

“Where material breaches UK terrorism legislation, they will seek its removal, even if the website host is based in another country, because every piece that is removed from the Internet is no longer out in the ether, potentially radicalising vulnerable people and encouraging them to cause serious harm to others.”

If you have seen material online which you are concerned could be terrorist or extremist, you can also report it at www.gov.uk/act