Parliamentary Work Archives

Violence-fixated children referred to Prevent, and then sent back again – Children’s Commissioner demands reform of anti-extremism programme

Two-thirds of children referred to Prevent by schools and colleges were returned to education settings – and in almost all of these the cases (93 per cent) the children received no support from Prevent. The Children’s Commissioner’s latest report draws on new data, interviews with professionals and new analysis of official figures to reveal the journeys taken by children in the government’s counter extremism programme. The study describes a system with a great deal of worry about children, seeking somewhere for them to get help, or someone to hold responsibility for them, and not finding it. Dame Rachel de Souza recommends that children currently sent to Prevent should be assessed through local safeguarding teams – which should include Counter Terrorism Policing – and directed to the right support. Read more on The Children’s Commissioner’s website. Related… Babies and Muslims lost in a flood of Home Office statistics on Prevent strategy

18 August 202618 August 2026 By Senior Editor

Parliamentary Work Latest News

The HASC makes several recommendations related to the Prevent duty

Prevent Watch submitted to the HASC that it was difficult to assess levels of extremism in the UK, since the primary tool for measuring it is the Prevent duty, which is inherently flawed and biased. In response, the HASC made several recommendations related to the Prevent duty. The full report from the HASC on New Forms of Extremism is available here. The Committee stated that Prevent: is becoming saturated with non-ideological cases, many of which would be better supported through health, education or community-based interventions rather than through a counter-terrorism lens. is also poorly adapted to identify individuals being drawn into extremism online. Its main recommendation to note was that: “The Home Office embed Prevent within the wider safeguarding system and introduce a triage structure that sits above Prevent to ensure that cases suitable for the types of intervention that Prevent offers are funneled to Prevent and cases more suited […]

1 June 202616 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Parliamentary Work Latest News

A summary of our submission to the Home Affairs Select Committee Report on New Forms of Extremism

Our submission to the HASC report on new forms of extremism answered questions posed by the HASC, drawing attention to inherent problems with gauging ‘extremism’ due to the operation of Prevent. Our submission described several key problems with Prevent and thus with assessing ‘extremism’ in the UK. A summary of our submission follows. Our full submission is available here. Identifying Extremism Risk Ticking any of the boxes on a National Prevent Referral Form can justify a Prevent referral with safeguarding leads advised: ‘better to be safe than sorry’. The Home Office Select Committee asks about trends relating to the growth of different types of extremism and radicalisation, including that of ‘mixed, unstable and unclear ideologies’ – but this category is potentially an artifact of how the boxes on the form are ticked. It is a subjective judgement made by the assessing individual and the upward trend in these referrals reflects […]

16 May 202616 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Parliamentary Work

A Summary of our Submission to the Children’s Commissioner

Prevent Watch submitted evidence privately to the Children’s Commissioner specifically outlining the harms of Prevent on children. Our submission highlighted that: 36% of referrals in the year ending March 2025 came from the school sector (nursery, primary, secondary schools and sixth form colleges). Around half of all referrals (49%) were between the ages of 11-17, with 4% being under the age of 10. Once referred to Prevent, even though no crime has been committed or even conceived, children are involved in the criminal justice system. This includes possible interview by CT police without the safeguards provided by PACE 1984, such as the presence of a parent or guardian. Subsequent to a referral, notwithstanding the outcome, their information will be kept on several police databases for a minimum of six years and up to 100 years, and until age 25 on social services databases, impacting their education and career. Not only […]

28 January 202628 July 2026 By Senior Editor

Presentation on the Prevent duty and Civil Liberties at Portcullis House

Parliamentary Work Previous Events

Portcullis House: The Prevent Duty and Civil Liberties presentation

On November 15, 2025, Prevent Watch director Dr Layla Aitlhadj presented at Portcullis House on the Prevent duty and Civil Liberties at an event organised by SOAS Influencing the Corridors of Power (ICOP). Dr Aitlhadj spoke alongside the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation Johnathan Hall KC and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Nottingham John Holmwood. The event was chaired by Prof. Alison Scott-Baumann Professor of Society and Belief (SOAS) and hosted by John MacDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington. A recording of the event is available here. A written summary of Dr Aitlhadj’s presentation is available here. If you would like to arrange a similar presentation or on any other topic related to Prevent, please fill in the form on this page.

16 November 20253 July 2026 By Senior Editor

Prevent Watch responds to the Bingham Centre’s Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice

12 November 2025 – Prevent Watch welcomes the publication of the Bingham report and approaches its findings with cautious optimism. The Commission’s conclusions confirm what Prevent Watch has long evidenced through over a decade of frontline casework and in our submissions to the Commission: Prevent is failing. The Prevent strategy relies on unproven theories of radicalisation and results in the surveillance of lawful expression, the stigmatisation of Muslims, and the referral of children and vulnerable people who pose no security risk. Prevent Watch welcomes the report’s call for independent oversight, stronger data protection, and a rights-based approach, including statutory independence for the Prevent Commissioner and an Information Commissioner’s audit of data handling. While the Commission proposes moving Prevent into a locally led, multi-agency safeguarding model, Prevent Watch is concerned that such recommendations could repackage securitisation under a new guise. The report’s call to reconsider the Prevent duty altogether if the […]

12 November 202516 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Community Resources Parliamentary Work Reports

Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law: Final report of the Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice

The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law is pleased to announce the publication of the final report of the Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice, chaired by the Rt Hon Sir Declan Morgan KC PC, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. After three years of research and consultation with over 200 experts, practitioners, policymakers, academics, and community representatives, the Commission presents 113 recommendations to ensure the UK’s counter-terrorism framework remains effective, proportionate, and firmly rooted in the Rule of Law. The report finds that while the UK’s counter-terrorism system remains among the most capable globally, it has expanded in scope and complexity—sometimes at the expense of focus, transparency, and public confidence. Read the full report.

1 November 202516 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Parliamentary Work Previous Events

Launch of Runnymede report on Islamophobia in the UK: Westminster

18 November 2024: Dr Layla Aitlhadj presented the chapter that she authored at the launch of the final report by Runnymede entitled Islamophobia: the Intensification of Racism against Muslim Communities in the UK. The report was launched on the same day at Parliament in Westminster. To arrange a talk by Prevent Watch on this topic or any other, please fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

18 November 202415 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Prevent Duty in Communities Latest News Parliamentary Work

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats: Five things we learned about Prevent

The Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats recently held an event examining the Prevent duty, where experts from Prevent Watch taught us these 5 things.

1 December 202315 June 2026 By Senior Editor

News Parliamentary Work

The Justice Gap: Ministers urged to withdraw Prevent review

The UK government has been called upon by community leaders, academics and more than 200 civil organisations to withdraw a controversial Prevent review.

26 March 202315 June 2026 By Senior Editor