Terror report targets Islamist extremism
THE long-awaited review of the Prevent anti-terror scheme is expected to call for a crackdown on Islamist extremism.
The landmark report by William Shawcross will prompt a major shake-up of how Britain battles terror threats.
It will identify Islamist violence and not Right-wing extremism as the country’s biggest terror threat.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is expected to accept its call for a new focus on radicalisation and terrorism.
Mr Shawcross’s review of the Prevent programme will call for a “back to basics” approach which will see renewed efforts to counter the core ideology behind Islamist terrorism.
There will also be a new focus on tackling anti-semitism.
And the report is likely to stir controversy when Mr Shawcross lists organisations in the UK he
‘Return to original principles... root out extremism’
believes are working as advocates for extremist groups.
A Whitehall source said: “Shawcross’s review is a crucial piece of work in returning Prevent to its original principles of rooting out extremism and stopping people turning into terrorists.”
A senior figure in UK politics with a close knowledge of Prevent welcomed the new focus on Islamist groups.
They said: “We’re worrying too much about misogynistic teenagers looking at sites on the internet, and worrying too little about Islamists who are planning to blow us up.”
The publication of this week’s report has been delayed for several months.
The source credited Ms Braverman and Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove for ensuring it was not “diluted or abridged”.
A further high level source said the report was likely to cover radicalisation in prison and could lead to more segregation of extremists behind bars.
A Conservative source warned against confusing “Islam with Islamism”, saying: “The first is a religion, just like any other… Islamism is something else; it seeks to impose its religious-political thinking on all others and all ways of life and it is in this cadre of people that we can find those willing to use violence to achieve those aims – Islamists.”
But Ruth Ehrlich, of human rights group Liberty, warned the Prevent strategy is “so fundamentally misconceived it is actively causing division in our communities”.
She added: “Studies have shown that due to the Prevent duty, Muslim students are changing their behaviour for fear of being stigmatised, labelled as extremists, or subjected to discrimination. Some children have been reported to the authorities for simply talking about video games at school.”
A spokesperson for the Muslim
Council of Britain said: “British Muslims want fairness, not favours.
“The Government should be approaching radicalisation with consistency and without being discriminatory.”
They went on: “We recommend a process where the fight against terrorism is rooted in evidence, not ideology. A process that will support security professionals and has the trust and backing of civil society more widely, all of whom are united against terrorism we all oppose.”