The so-called Prevent program lists “far-right and extreme right-wing terrorism” as one of the key dangers facing the country
A UK government training guide has labelled concerns over mass migration as an extremist ideology which should be targeted for “deradicalization.”
The so-called Prevent program lists “far-right and extreme right-wing terrorism” as one of the key dangers facing the country. It also stressed that one of its hallmarks is “cultural nationalism,” which it describes as a belief that “‘Western Culture’ is under threat from mass migration into Europe and from a lack of integration by certain ethnic and cultural groups.”
The signs of “cultural nationalism” include “the rejection of… practices such as the wearing of the burqa or the perceived rise of the use of sharia law,” the advisory claims. It adds that another key concern is “White Nationalism,” which espouses the idea that “some sort of ‘White’ homeland” is under “existential threat” due to demographic change.
The Prevent strategy, which is part of the training provided to teachers, police officers, and health workers, among others, is intended to identify early signs of radicalization and intervene before individuals become involved in terrorism. It is also based on the notion that “there is no socio-demographic profile of a terrorist in the UK, and no single pathway or ‘conveyor belt’, leading to terrorism.”
The course has triggered a strong public backlash. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss suggested that “most Britons would agree” with the statement that Western culture is under threat. “We have a deep state that is working against the people. The Prevent program should be cancelled,” she wrote on X.
Lord Young of Acton, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, warned that Prevent is targeting individuals “whose views are entirely lawful but politically controversial.” In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, he said: “Even mainstream, right-of-center beliefs risk being treated as ideologically suspect.”
A Home Office spokesperson defended the program, saying: “Prevent is not about restricting debate or free speech, but about protecting those susceptible to radicalization.”
The UK has struggled for years to respond to domestic security challenges. In May, 20-year-old Ilyas Akhtar was charged with terrorism-related offences in Slough over two arson attacks and one bomb hoax incident aimed at a supermarket.
Last October, Axel Rudakubana, the 18-year-old son of Rwandan immigrants to the UK, was charged with the murder of three young girls and the injury of another ten, also mostly children, in Southport, North West England. According to the Daily Telegraph, the latter had been referred to the Prevent program on at least three separate occasions prior to the rampage.
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