The government’s counter-terrorism program has been too focused on right-wing extremism and must now fight Islamism, according to leaked excerpts from drafts of a landmark review of the prevention strategy.
In a particularly provocative recommendation seen by the Guardian, the review argues that there has been a “double standard” approach to tackling various forms of extremism, with people aiming to express basic right-wing views as the definition of neo-Nazism has become too widespread. while the focus on Islamism is too narrow.
The leak of information from the government-commissioned review of Prevent by Sir William Shawcross is likely to be deeply controversial. They come days after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where a self-confessed white supporter shot dead 11 blacks and two white victims in what authorities described as a “racially motivated hate crime.”
Sir Peter Fahi, the former police chief of Prevent, said the excerpts from the review suggested that Shawcross’s findings were an unwarranted attempt to “politicize the anti-terrorism police” and that it was “quite dangerous to play one ideology against another”.
The Shawcross Review Project also claims that:
-
a renewed focus on Islamist extremism is needed, including when individuals do not yet meet the threshold of terrorism.
-
individuals are targeted by Prevent, the government’s anti-extremism program, for access to mental health support, even when there is no evidence of extremism.
-
some Prevent-funded groups have promoted extremist stories, including support for the Taliban.
The long-delayed review of Shawcross, which was delivered to the Interior Ministry in late April, has already drawn criticism from civil society groups, dozens of whom have refused to participate.
Shawcross, a former head of the charity, has made mixed comments about Islam. In 2012, as director of the Henry Jackson Society’s neoconservative think tank, he said: “Europe and Islam is one of the biggest, most terrifying problems of our future. I think all European countries have a significant, very fast growing Islamic population. “
The number of references to Prevent related to far-right extremism exceeded those of Islamist radicalization for the first time last year. The forwarding of far-right threats from the Prevent program to the Channel, which provides more intensive intervention, is already ahead of the Islamist radicalization of 2020.
In the draft review of the Shawcross Prevention Program, he argued that its goal should be refocused, saying that its first goal, to tackle the causes of radicalization and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism, “has not been sufficiently met. degree ‘.
It argues that the program must re-engage with individuals who do not yet pose a terrorist threat, but who can “create an environment conducive to terrorism.”
An excerpt says that Prevent has “a double standard when fighting the far right and Islamism.” It says the program has taken a broad look at right-wing terror, which “is so broad that it includes slightly contradictory or provocative forms of mainstream, right-wing comments that have no meaningful connection to terrorism or radicalization.”
However, it said a tougher approach to Islamist extremism needed to be taken and that the program focused on banned organizations, “ignoring Islamist stories”.
The draft review is also critical of Prevent-funded civil society organizations and community projects, suggesting that funding is misallocated to “generic” projects and few “can be seen to publicly challenge extremist discourse”.
He found that some Prevent-funded programs “promoted extremist stories, including statements that appear to support the Taliban.” The project says: “As a basic principle, the government should stop engaging in or funding those who are in line with extremism.
Another statement says that Prevent “bears the brunt” of overstretched mental health services and that vulnerable people have been targeted to access other forms of support, even when they do not pose a terrorist threat.
Understandably, the report was finalized by Shawcross and his team. It has yet to be scrutinized before undergoing legal scrutiny in the event that a person or group can claim to have been defamed, which could potentially expose the Home Office, which chose Shawcross for the role despite strong concerns, of payment of legal damages.
Fahi, a former Greater Manchester Police Chief and head of Prevent until 2015, told the Guardian: “There is a danger of police thought, as opposed to the risk of violence. It is not about ideology, but about the risk of violence.
“It’s about threat, risk and harm. We know that there is an increase in far-right extremism in the United Kingdom. The most severe terrorist attack in Europe was by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik.
“It sounds very dangerous to play one ideology against another. There is a danger that this will be an attempt to politicize the police to combat terrorism. How should the police judge what is mass? Police are working on the likelihood that the man will be involved in violence, not whether his views are widespread. “
Extracts from the project are also likely to raise eyebrows in intelligence. Ken McCallum, director general of the Internal Spy Agency, recently warned that far-right terrorism is one in five of all counter-terrorism investigations, a threat that “has grown and changed significantly over the past five to 10 years.”
A specific problem, he said, was the “high prevalence” of teenagers in right-wing terrorism investigations, which he said was because young people were immersed in the “toxic ideology” of “online extremists and echo cameras”.
The interior ministry has banned a number of far-right groups in recent years, including the neo-Nazi group Sonnenkrieg Division, whose members have been jailed for serious crimes. He also recognized the far-right System Resistance Network as a pseudonym for the now-banned National Action.
Prevent has come under new scrutiny following the assassination of Conservative MP David Ames, who was stabbed to death in an operation in his constituency by Ali Harby Ali, who said he was motivated by Islamist extremism. His assassination last year was followed by another Islamist attack on Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said: “Prevention remains a vital tool for early intervention and protection. We will not allow extremists or terrorists to spread hatred or sow division, and the Prevent remains an important driver in helping to divert people from harm.
“The independent review of Prevent, led by William Shawcross, will ensure that we continue to improve our response and better protect people from being attracted to poisonous and dangerous ideologies. The report is currently being finalized and, once officially received and fully considered, the report and the government’s response will be published.
Add Comment