The book prize commemorates Airey Neave MP who was killed by a car bomb at the House of Commons car park in 1979, planted by the Irish National Liberation Army Irish republican terrorists. The Airey Neave Trust was established, in his memory, to further research and understanding in relation to Freedom under the Law, and especially about issues regarding the analysis of and the best response to terrorist violence.
This year’s prize covers a two-year period, from 2020-22, and the purpose of the prize is: “The Neave Prize is awarded annually to the work of non-fiction which the Judging Panel considers to have made the most significant, original, relevant, and practically valuable contribution to the understanding of terrorism.” This is the fourth time that Pool Re have sponsored the book prize, with the winning author receiving a cheque from the CEO of Pool Re for £5,000. Previous winning books have included: Ali Soufan’s The Anatomy of Terror, Christopher Andrew’s The Secret World: A History of Intelligence and Audrey Kurth Cronin’s Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s Terrorists.”
This year the prize will be presented by Baroness Pauline Neville Jones DCMG, who has a long and successful career in both the Foreign Office and in counterterrorism having been Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee from 1993-1994 and the Minster of Security in the Home Office from 2010-2011.
The 4 shortlisted books for this year are: