Byline Times: Gove and Shawcross guests of ‘dark money’ lobby group

Communities Secretary Michael Gove and the Independent reviewer of the Prevent strategy William Shawcross addressed the profit-making lobbying group, the Counter Extremism Group (CEG), a think tank founded by Robin Simcox and Hannah Stuart. The Byline Times reports that the CEG is not the non-partisan think tank it styles itself to be. In reality, it is an opaque lobbying group that refuses to disclose the sources of its funding. Aside from this ‘dark money’, it also has ties to well-known ‘alt-right’ extremist hate groups. Since last March, Simcox simultaneously served on the government’s Commission for Countering Extremism. He was appointed its commissioner by former Home Secretary Priti Patel last July. Company records show that the CEG received £706,489 from unidentified “creditors” in 2022. The accounts filed in January this year also state that “other creditors include £701,436… in respect of grants received where attached conditions hadn’t yet been fulfilled at the reporting date”. Read the full story: Cabinet Minister Against Islamophobia Definition Addresses ‘Dark Money’ Lobbying Group Tied to Extremist Organisations – Byline Times