London: The publication of a review of the UK’s anti-extremism Prevent program has reportedly been delayed because of a row between senior government ministers.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Michael Gove, secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, are reportedly at loggerheads over the presentation of the report, written by William Shawcross, because the names of a number of people and organizations, accused of spreading extremist Islamist ideology in the UK whilst receiving funding from the government, have been redacted.
The Home Office wants to implement all the recommendations in the report but to keep the names redacted to avoid being sued for libel. Gove wants the report published in its entirety to give the most accurate depiction possible to the public, it has been reported.
The report was completed in the summer and was due to be signed off by Braverman’s predecessor, Priti Patel, but it was delayed following the collapse of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.
A source told the Times: “Gove wants to take over the review and wants it to just focus on Islamist groups.”
Another source said: “There is a hold-up, he (Gove) is looking to make certain changes to it because he wasn’t entirely 100 percent behind the report as it was. He’s gone back to the Home Office with his views because he’s keen that the government’s response is right.”
Gove is thought to have a particular desire for transparency in uncovering Islamist extremism following the 2014 Trojan Horse scandal, where it was discovered that a number of individuals and organizations had attempted to introduce hardline Islamist ideology at schools in the English city of Birmingham.
The first source added: “(Gove’s) view is that too much focus is now on the extreme right. Shawcross took a structured approach based upon what the agencies experienced with their caseloads. This point was reflected in his review and it matters because all operational work and caseloads go through.”
A source close to Shawcross, a former head of the Charity Commission who was asked to compile the report by Johnson, said: “There is widespread unhappiness to the approach of the Home Office, saying ‘we can’t say this or that about organizations,’ redacting and removing certain bits about certain organizations and individuals. He’s frustrated and not buying the excuses.”
The Prevent program has come under fire in recent years both over claims that it has failed to prevent terrorist attacks and that it has been used excessively by schoolteachers in the UK to effectively discipline children for “trivial” reasons.
In one case, an 11-year-old boy was referred after saying during a fire drill that he wished his school would burn down, and in another, an 11-year-old boy was referred after a teacher misunderstood him saying he wished to give “alms” to poor people as meaning weapons. Govt row delays release of UK anti-extremism
The program has an annual budget of £40 million ($48.27 million), and the Shawcross report is expected to say that it has also focused too much on the threat of far-right extremism and not enough on Islamist extremism.
The likely recommendations are for the program to be repositioned to tackle radicalization, and that MI5 and counterterrorism police should be given greater influence in deciding which individuals referred to it should be pursued.
A government spokesperson said it was “currently reviewing the recommendations of the independent review and will publish the report and our response in due course. It is only right that the government takes the time to prepare and deliver a considered response.”
A Home Office source said: “The home secretary and levelling up secretary have never even discussed the Prevent report, so there is no row or clash.” Govt row delays release of UK anti-extremism
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