Middle East Eye: Home Office ministers reject their own department’s review of UK counter-extremism policy

Fresh confusion surrounded the future direction of the UK government’s counter-extremism strategy on Tuesday as Home Office ministers were forced to reject the conclusions of a leaked internal review which called for a focus on “behaviours and activity of concern” rather than ideology.

Middle East Eye reported that details of the review, which also called for the scope of counter-extremism work to be widened to cover a range of causes and activities including Hindutva (Hindu nationalism), extreme misogyny and a fascination with violence, were published on Monday by Policy Exchange, a right-wing think tank.

But on Tuesday it was reported that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper did not agree with the recommendations of her own department’s review and would order the focus of policy to remain directed towards Islamist and far-right extremism.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis also said the review was not policy and that the government had no plans to expand the definition of extremism.

Layla Aitlhadj, director of Prevent Watch, told MEE that successive governments “have consistently used reviews and consultations to reinforce existing policies rather than critically assess or improve them”.

She added that any acceptance or rejection of the leaked Home Office report “is likely to follow this same pattern”.

Read more on The Middle East Eye.