Halt the expansion of UK counter-terrorism policies, says joint letter from civil society organisations

These are the main points of our joint letter sent to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to halt the expansion of UK counter-terrorism policies.

We are concerned that several reviews and policy implementations on Prevent remain in place from the previous government. With regards to this, we request that:

The proposal in March 2024 by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that a new definition of extremism be adopted against which Muslim civil societies should be assessed for the purpose of excluding them from public funding and consultation with public authorities, be suspended.
The Commission for Countering Extremism be suspended from its current – publicly unaccountable – role as responsible for the direction of Prevent within the Home Office and across government departments following the removal of its charter and statutory responsibilities in July 2023.
Following this, we request that Prevent be placed under the remit of the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, as are the other three strands of CONTEST pending further review. (a review of the whole of CONTEST including Prepare, Pursue, Protect and Prevent is yet to report.)
We request that the current review of CONTEST include a reconsideration of the recommendations of the Shawcross Review.