“You’re getting these lone characters who develop a weird fixation on a particular MP or former MP.” Political violence in the 70s and 80s posed by the IRA was different in it’s nature, in that the IRA were targeting “high profile government ministers for propaganda purposes” whereas the nature of today’s political violence is more often to do with “strange obsessions online”, says columnist for The Times James Marriott. James Marriott was speaking to Hugo Rifkind on Times Radio. Listen live every Monday to Thursday, 10am-1pm. Read the best of our journalism: https://www.thetimes.com/ Listen live to Times Radio: https://www.thetimes.com/radio/live Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=timesonlinevideo Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timesandsundaytimes/ Find us on X: https://x.com/thetimes Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetimes/