There was confusion on Tuesday after Keir Starmer’s government belatedly insisted that the controversial anti-extremism adviser Lord Walney, appointed by Rishi Sunak, remains in post, after initially suggesting to this paper that he had fulfilled his work for the government.
After days of questions about his status, a Home Office spokesperson suggested that he had indeed fulfilled his role as the ‘Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption’ and thanked him for the service.
But hours after this article’s publication, the department issued a statement insisting that he in fact “remains in post”.
The former Labour MP, and adviser to the previous Conservative Government sparked ire among civil liberties campaigners and climate groups, after calling for a series of bans against groups protesting against defence and energy firms, while also working as a lobbyist for arms and fossil fuel industry groups.
Walney’s domestic extremism report, which was published in advance of the general election in May, had called for certain pro-Palestine and climate change protest groups to be effectively banned.
Read more on Byline Times.
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