Britain’s counter-terrorism chief has said far-right terrorists are being radicalised by mainstream newspaper coverage, while also criticising the hypocrisy of outlets such as Mail Online, which uploaded the “manifesto” of the gunman in the Christchurch terror attack. Neil Basu, one of Britain’s top police officers, said it was ironic that while newspapers have repeatedly criticised
UK counter-terrorism police are working with companies including McDonald's, Tesco and River Island on a training programme to help staff to spot early signs of violent extremism in fellow workers. Under the Home Office’s contentious anti-radicalisation programme, known as Prevent, state employees from teachers to local government workers and healthcare staff are already under a
The landmark legal challenge ruled that guidance given to universities and colleges which saw speakers with ‘extremist views’ being banned from events was unlawful. The UK’s so-called ‘counter-extremism’ Prevent strategy has always been a controversial policy. Not only have its negative consequences been felt and condemned in the United Kingdom, but its inherently flawed basis
The Prevent duty legally binds universities to curbing on-campus radicalisation as part of the UK’s counter-terror legislation strategy. Yesterday, the court of appeal found the government’s guidance to universities on carrying out the duty to be unlawful. The ruling argued that the guidance does not sufficiently inform universities of their duty to ensure freedom of
The government’s Prevent duty guidance to universities is unlawful and must be rewritten, judges have ruled after a successful judicial review argued that it violated freedom of speech. The court of appeal found that Prevent guidelines on inviting controversial speakers were not balanced and accurate enough to inform universities of their competing obligations to ensure
Over the past few days, 19-year-old Shamima Begum – one of the ‘Bethnal Green trio’ who left the UK to join the Islamic State (IS) in 2015 – has been very much in the media spotlight. Since the publication of her interview with The Times journalist Anthony Loyd last week, public debate has raged about
In 2015, 15-year old Shamima Begum travelled to Syria. Having been groomed online, she was married into ISIL and became known as one of the three ‘Bethnal Green girls’. Over the past four years, Shamima — along with Amina and Kadiza — have been featured in Prevent training sessions as a ‘hard lesson’ to be
At a full council meeting, Liberal Democrat Rabina Khan, supported by two Conservatives members, tabled a budget amendment that would see cash taken from the communications budget and given to the Prevention of Violent Extremism Family Support Team. The motion was submitted last minute after the publicity surrounding IS teenager Shamima Bergum – one of
For the last two years, I have increasingly seen Prevent practitioners and those who sympathise with Prevent argue that increased far-right referrals prove it is a fair and non-discriminatory policy. With an “independent” review of the policy coming up, it’s worth disposing of this myth once and for all. Read more
London – CAGE is alarmed that attendees to an Islamophobia Awareness Month event at Kingston University had their data ‘leaked’ – in a serious breach of data protection – to PREVENT. Students have long campaigned against PREVENT and the subsequent securitisation of campuses, which has stifled students’ ability to organise on their campuses. Read more