Priti def ies her critics to expand anti-terror strategy

THE Home Secretary is planning ‘root and branch’ reform of the Government’s deradicalisation programme amid fears that large areas of the UK are dangerously unprotected from extremists.

In the biggest shake-up of the Prevent strategy since its launch in 2003, Priti Patel has proposed dividing the country into nine area hubs, with teams in extremist ‘hot spots’.

This should allow a rapid response to an attack.

Intelligence highlighted an increasing number of Islamic terrorist offenders living in neighbourhoods outside traditional Muslim areas, and most far-Right extremists based in areas with little or no previous extremist activity.

An insider said the terrorist who bombed Parsons Green Tube station in 2017 provided stark evidence of the problem.

Ahmed Hassan came from a non-priority area of Surrey.

‘In Hassan’s case, the influence of a dedicated Prevent officer may have helped to mitigate the risk beforehand,’ the source said, despite ‘a campaign by some groups to curtail Prevent’.

A senior Whitehall source said: ‘We want to make sure that everyone who needs [Prevent] has access to it.’