Extremists must be named, Gove told

MICHAEL GOVE has been warned he must name Islamist groups or his crackdown on extremism will not work.

The Communities Secretary has been told by senior Tories and a leading antiislamist campaigner that the Government would be seen as “weak” if it failed to “call out” the extremist groups trying to subvert democracy.

Mr Gove has come under pressure ahead of an announcement this week of a new official definition of extremism that will enable the Government and bodies such as universities and councils to ban funding for or engagement with Islamist and far-right groups.

He is understood to want to publish the names of such groups, but has been warned by officials that he will face legal challenges if he tries to do so. Alternatively, he could use Parliamentary privilege, which grants legal immunity to MPS to protect their right to free speech.

Original drafts of the plan included the names of eight groups that could be captured by the new definition, including the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Palestine Action and Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND).

The MCB said this weekend it was seeking to “reserve our position legally”. Palestine Action said no definition would “deter” its campaigning.

The crackdown follows a six-fold rise in anti-semitic and anti-muslim abuse since the Oct 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Weekly pro-palestine protests have prompted MPS and the Home Office’s independent counter-extremism adviser to warn that London has become a “no go zone” for Jews at weekends.

One former Tory minister said: “Not publishing a list would be very weak. The definition is defined to provide guard rails for councils, schools and other public authorities as to who they shouldn’t engage with.

“If the Government is so scared that

they won’t even publish the names of the organisations, one can hardly expect others to dissociate from them.”

Fiyaz Mughal, a campaigner against extremism, was lined up to become Mr Gove’s anti-muslim hatred tsar until withdrawing his application at the weekend amid threats on social media from Islamists and the far-right.

He said: “These groups have gone under the radar because Government has never had the spine to take them on. We need to call them out to let the public see them and know them for what they are. They are a threat to our country. Yet, police and other organisations have been engaging with some of these Islamist groups to provide training.”

Mr Mughal was speaking for the first time since he withdrew his application after his candidacy was revealed on Friday. “I fear for my mental health and my life as a liberal Muslim,” he said.

A second former Tory minister said: “My instinct would be to strive towards naming them but you have to do it in a very careful way. The last time involved the Muslim Brotherhood where a review concluded membership should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism. Where there is solid evidence, the Government should be putting that information into the public domain.”

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Gove warned that some pro-palestinian events had been organised by extremist organisations. He said the Government was planning to “go into details” that would allow protesters to question whether they “really want to be lending credence” to extremist groups by marching alongside them.

The definition will replace the existing Prevent counter-terror programme definition, giving “more specificity on the ideologies, behaviour and groups of concern”. It will enable Government and public bodies to bar groups from venues or campuses and block funding if they are judged to be promoting extremist ideology that “undermines” or “overturns” British values.

It comes as a report commissioned by the Government’s counter-extremism tsar warned Britain faces an “alarming” rise in intimidation and threats of violence against those perceived to have insulted Islam. The report by Robin Simcox, seen by The Times, warns that protests condemning acts of alleged blasphemy have become more frequent and radicalised.

MEND was contacted for comment.