The UK’s Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) is soliciting complaints about the Prevent counterterrorism programme from anonymous far-right social media accounts, Middle East Eye has revealed.
A review of the commission’s recent activity on the social media platform X found it has engaged with posts purportedly written by people critical of public sector Prevent training, including posts which suggest that the programme is “turning a blind eye to Islam” while exaggerating the threat posed by the far right.
Layla Aitlhadj, director of Prevent Watch, told MEE that the revelations reinforce concerns about the commission’s “lack of rigour and impartiality”.
“With the announcement of an independent reviewer for Prevent, this appears to be a desperate bid to remain relevant in a shifting landscape,” she said.
In the engagement reported by Middle East Eye, the CCE’s official X account reads: “Hello, we process and investigate complaints about Prevent and are interested in finding out more about the training referenced above,” in a thread linked to a far-right account called British Lioness.
“Please feel free to DM us, tweet us back, or make a formal complaint using this link.” A link to a government webpage entitled “Make a complaint about Prevent” was attached.
Read more on The Middle East Eye.
Related…
The People’s Review of Prevent (Report, 2024)
