The Henry Jackson Society has responded to the publication today of the latest set of statistics on referrals to the Prevent and Channel counter-extremism programmes.
The figures show that between April 2016 and March 2017, over 6,000 people were referred to Prevent. Of those who received support from Channel, over a third were as a result of far-right concerns.
Tom Wilson, Research Fellow in the Centre for the Response to Radicalisation and Terrorism at The Henry Jackson Society, said:
“The figures released today show that Britain continues to face an ongoing and evolving challenge from extremism – one that will only be exacerbated by returning foreign fighters in the months to come.
“In particular, they show a rise in the number of referrals to Prevent from the far right. This is a reminder that Prevent can play an important part in combatting racist and anti-Muslim elements, as well as Islamist extremism. Given this, it is only right to question whether groups who campaign against Prevent really have British Muslim communities’ best interests at heart.
“The fact that the majority of referrals continues to be young people is deeply troubling and underlines that tackling this problem is a generational challenge. It is critically important that Ministers continue to invest in and reform Prevent and Channel in order to identify and help those most susceptible to radicalisation.”