Human Rights Archives - Prevent Watch

Rahman Lowe Secures Landmark Victory In Anti-Zionist belief Discrimination Claim

In a landmark Judgment handed down today, the Honourable Lord Fairley, President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), dismissed the University of Bristol’s appeal and found that Dr David Miller was discriminated against because of his anti-Zionist beliefs. The EAT upheld the decision of the Employment Tribunal and concluded that Dr Miller was discriminated against because of his philosophical belief that Zionism is inherently racist, imperialist, and colonial, and ought to be opposed. The EAT held that his anti-Zionist beliefs constitute a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010; he was dismissed because he manifested those beliefs and as the dismissal was tainted by discrimination, he was unfairly dismissed. This means that it is unlawful to discriminate against someone because they hold those beliefs. The successful appeal outcome reinforces that controversial beliefs are not excluded from protection under the EqA simply because they generate complaints or public controversy. Read more […]

4 August 20264 August 2026 By Senior Editor

AI-Powered Surveillance and the Prevent strategy

“When states transfer more power to private entities, the public loses. The government becomes a body designed to service the needs and interests of profit-seeking private entities rather than its citizens. Worse, citizens lose much of their power to hold governments accountable: the government abdicates and transfers responsibility to private actors against which citizens have fewer rights.”[1] This piece examines the creeping infrastructure of AI-powered surveillance in the UK and its implications for the Prevent strategy’s pre-crime framework. Digital ID, Palantir and Oracle In January of this year, the UK government dropped its plans for a mandatory digital ID. This came after almost 3 million signatures on a parliamentary petition opposing digital IDs.[2] Several corporations were in talks of implementing the digital ID apparatus. Palantir Technologies, named after the all-seeing stone in The Lord of the Rings,[3] dropped out of the bid back in October, citing a lack of public […]

8 July 20269 July 2026 By Senior Editor

Safeguarding not Securitisation educators resource on the Prevent Duty

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Educator’s Resource on Prevent: Safeguarding not Securitisation

Prevent Watch, in collaboration with Amnesty UK and Liberty, have put together a valuable resource for educators on the Prevent Duty entitled ‘Safeguarding not Securitisation’. The 28-page booklet was put together after feedback from educators who wanted to know what their rights were in relation to Prevent, and who had become aware of the dangers of relying on ‘gut instinct’ in referrals, specifically when it comes to students. The current government and school guidance on Prevent do not take these harms into account, nor do they provide guidance on how to navigate Prevent while protecting students’ and teachers’ rights. This has left educators in the difficult situation of having to navigate Prevent as a statutory duty, and default to the Prevent Duty as a safeguarding protocol, while being increasingly aware that it violates many of the core principles of safeguarding and can infringe on several key rights. The booklet debunks […]

10 June 202612 June 2026 By Senior Editor

Presentation on the Prevent duty and Civil Liberties at Portcullis House

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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

picture of springwatch star chris packham slamming ofsted for linking autism and extremism

RSI and Prevent Watch back Springwatch star Chris Packham’s campaign against Prevent profiling

Rights and Security International (RSI) and Prevent Watch back Springwatch star Chris Packham’s campaign to overhaul Ofsted’s approach to autistic people and their referral to the government’s counter-extremism scheme, Prevent. On 10 June, RSI published a series of national Ofsted trainings on Prevent, one of which made uninformed and stereotype-driven assertions about autistic people, claiming that they are more likely to become extremists or terrorists because of their ‘special interests’. Prevent Watch case: Christian autistic boy referred to Prevent counter-terrorism for resisting LGBTQ+ programme The Guardian’s coverage of this story has since sparked significant backlash against Ofsted’s trainings, including by TV presenter Packham, who is also an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, who said: “That’s not safeguarding, that’s an exercise in profiling.” Prevent Watch and RSI welcome this scrutiny. But it must go further. Prevent Watch have seen a spike in the number of individuals, particularly autistic children, being […]

27 June 202530 June 2025 By Senior Editor

Huffpost: Chris Packham slams Ofsted over guidance linking Autism and extremism

TV presenter Chris Packham has called out Ofsted for linking autism and extremism in a “discriminatory” and “extraordinarily inaccurate statement” made in their Prevent-related training document, reports the Huffington Post. His comments come after The Guardian reported that a training manual, used to teach Ofsted school inspectors, suggested children with autism are “at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism”. It also reportedly claimed that children who are autistic are “more likely to develop special interests” and “can be drawn into extremism” as a result. The training guide, called Inspection Safeguarding Session – Prevent Extract 2024, reportedly reads: “Children and young people with autism are at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism. This is because they are more likely to develop special interests. “Due to this and any social communication needs, children with autism are more likely to experience social isolation and so use the internet as a way […]

25 June 20251 September 2025 By Senior Editor

Previous Events

The Prevent strategy and its impact on university staff about Palestine

Dr Layla Aitlhadj spoke about the Prevent strategy and its impact on discussions around Palestine among university teachers and staff at a conference at Lancaster University. The conference aimed at addressing care, trauma and emotions in teaching and support structures at universities. If you would like to arrange a similar presentation or workshop on Prevent and Palestine for your educational or other context, please fill in the online form here.

12 June 20259 October 2025 By Senior Editor

Community Resources Statements

Our submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Our final submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) can be found on the official submission site here. It outlines how the Prevent counter-extremism strategy violates the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 2106, and urges the UN to recommend that the UK government withdraw Prevent from the sectors of education and health. Together with our client testimonies, this document contributed to the CERD recommending that the UK government suspend Prevent. The Word.doc format as it was sent to the CERD in 2024 can be downloaded it by clicking the link below. Prevent Watch Final Submission to the CERD

11 April 20259 July 2025 By Senior Editor

Prevent Watch meet UN High Commissioner at Amnesty UK head office in London

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For the Love of Trains – Speaking to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about Prevent

On Monday, I was at Amnesty International’s offices, meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. It was an opportunity for directors from several civil society organisations to ensure he heard about the most urgent human rights issues before his meeting with the UK government. (Picture: Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (centre) with Dr Layla Aitlhadj, Prevent Watch and represntatives from Amnesty UK, Liberty, Just Fair, Human Rights Watch, Children’s Rights Alliance, Together and others.) For us at Prevent Watch, this meant making sure the voices of those harmed by Prevent were loud and clear. I didn’t get much notice to prepare, and I was told I would only have five minutes to speak. So, rather than trying to summarize 20 years of damage in a few rushed minutes, I brought with me a toy train. Not just any toy train, but a Thomas […]

20 March 202516 April 2025 By Senior Editor

Picture of surveillance camera related to Council of Europe new measures on counter-extremism

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EUROPE: Council of Europe releases new guidelines on prosecution of violent extremism

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted new guidelines aimed at enhancing the prosecution of violent extremism conducive to terrorism. These guidelines, developed by the Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT), provide strategies for prosecuting violent far-right, far-left, and other sympathisers under terrorism charges. The guidelines focus on various stages of prosecution, including investigation, charging, and the ways of proving the elements of terrorist offences. They stress the need for criminal justice authorities to understand how these groups operate, particularly their flexible structures and the distinctive operational strategies. Key aspects of the guidelines include investigation techniques which include surveillance and financial investigations, cross-border co-operation and collaboration between agencies, and prevention of ‘radicalisation’, especially in prisons. The text reaffirms the importance of combating terrorism and violent extremism in line with human rights standards, as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. Read the full summary on the Council […]

28 February 202510 April 2025 By Senior Editor

Human Rights