The government’s independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation, Jonathan Hall, was among the first to raise concerns about how growing numbers of autistic young people coming to the attention of Prevent. In a speech for the think tank Bright Blue in 2021, Hall said the number of autistic young people referred to the anti-terror programme was “staggeringly high”. In an email, Hall pointed out how Sir William Shawcross’s independent review of Prevent in 2023 suggested the notion of “vulnerability” had “bedevilled” discussion of the risk of terrorism. Hall argues the idea of vulnerability has been “supercharged“ by the number of autistic young people arrested for terror offences. He added, “The problem is that ‘vulnerability’ muddles susceptibility to involvement with terrorist content online, with considerations of the proper response. “The latter often carries unrealistic implications that the health service, local authorities, or education are either designed or sufficiently resourced to deal with […]