Counter-terrorism scheme defended

Hundreds of referrals since attacks

POLICE: The officer in charge of the counter-terrorism Prevent scheme in Yorkshire says it has received hundreds of referrals about people at risk of being radicalised since the attacks on Manchester and London.

THE OFFICER in charge of the counter-terrorism Prevent scheme in Yorkshire says it has received hundreds of referrals about people at risk of being radicalised in the months since the attacks on Manchester and London.

Detective Superintendent Nik Adams said the increase in referrals showed the success of the controversial scheme after a Yorkshire campaigning group called for it to be scrapped on the grounds that it was “counter-productive” and “brewing a climate of self-censorship and fear”.

During a visit to Leeds this week, Home Secretary Amber Rudd issued an unequivocal defence of Prevent, which was created in 2003 in a bid to stop people joining extremist groups and carrying out acts of terrorism.

But the report by civil liberties organisation JUST Yorkshire said the strategy was holding “the entire Muslim community as collectively suspect, and is built on a robust foundation of Islamophobia”.

One of the authors of the document, based on interviews with 36 Muslim individuals including activists, journalists, faith leaders and students, was Dr Waqas Tufail, senior lecturer in social sciences at Leeds Beckett University.

Responding to its contents, Det Supt Adams, the Prevent coordinator for seven police forces in the North East region, including four in Yorkshire, said it was about “safeguarding vulnerable people from being radicalised by extremists or extremist ideology in all its forms”.

He said: “The most effective way of keeping our communities safe from terrorism is by working together to identify those who are at risk and by tackling those who seek to exploit them.

“Those who work in Prevent tirelessly aim to do just that and our experience is not reflective of the JUST Yorkshire report’s finding, which is based on the views of just 36 people.

“The report is not reflective of the vital work of Prevent nor of the confidence people show when they come forward and report their concerns.

“A better indicator of this is the hundreds of referrals into Prevent we have received over the past few months following recent terrorist attacks.

“We do understand some people are reluctant to share their concerns, especially when reports such as this peddle misinformation.

“Our approach is balanced, proportionate and caring. Seeking to undermine confidence in Prevent is exactly what extremists want and I cannot understand why anyone would want to do that.”

Undermining confidence in Prevent is exactly what extremists want. Detective Superintendent Nik Adams.