Alarm at the leap in number of far-Right extremists

THE rise of the far-Right in Britain was laid bare by ministers yesterday as the number of suspected extremists soared by 36 per cent in 12 months.

Referrals to the Government’s anti-terror Prevent Programme for Right-wing extremism rose from 968 in 2016-17 to 1,312 in 2017-18.

Overall, 7,318 people were highlighted to authorities amid fears they had been radicalised in the year to March – up 20 per cent the previous year. This includes 2,009 under the age of 15 and over half of all referrals were under the age of 20.

While Islamists accounted for a larger proportion of referrals, with 3,197, the number in the category fell by 14 per cent year on year.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said: “The figures show Prevent is tackling the threat from radicalisation wherever it is found, including from the rise in right-wing extremism.

Terrorists

“Through the Prevent and [multi-agency safeguarding] Channel programmes, people who are vulnerable to radicalisation have received the support they need to turn their lives around, which has also helped keep our communities safe.

“Since 2012, Prevent has stopped potentially 1,267 people from going on to become terrorists and harming our society.”

Critics argue the programme “alienates” communities and provides few results.

The Home Office said: “Individuals discussed at a Channel panel with concerns related to Rightwing extremism were proportionately more likely to receive Channel support (174 of 427; 41 per cent) than those with concerns related to Islamist extremism (179 of 662; 27 per cent).

“For the first time a similar number of individuals have received Channel support for concerns relating to Islamist and Right-wing extremism.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Prevent, Chief Constable Simon Cole, said: “Families and friends are often best placed to spot the changes in a person that could indicate they are being influenced by dangerous radicalisers.”