State of Extremism Report
Debate between Baroness Uddin and Lord Hanson of Flint(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
It is vital that those spreading extremism are tackled in every form by the state and by other parties. The Home Office will publish, as the noble Lord knows, the landmark state of extremism report by the end of this calendar year. We are delivering a fundamental reset of how we counter extremism and want to make sure that we have the tools, capabilities and partnerships to match the scale of that threat. The report itself will cover not just government action but the available support and powers on disruption, particularly relating to case studies.
Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I have recently learned about and am deeply concerned by the Prevent programme, which has a voluntary participation clause. Can the Minister explain the criteria being used to identify young Muslim people, in particular, who are deemed fit to be “trained”? How are the Government ensuring that young Muslim people are not targeted and profiled, and that this practice is not forced down their and their families’ throats, as happened with young Black people during the stop and search period, which was a shameful time for many families and particularly for institutions?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
The purpose of government policy and of Prevent is not to colour all Muslims as being related to extremist activity. The purpose of Prevent is to help identify those individuals who are vulnerable and at risk. That identification is done by social workers, support workers, police and other agencies. If an individual is vulnerable, the idea of Prevent is to help them have defences against that vulnerability so that they do not get drawn into extremism. The Muslim community as a whole should have nothing to fear from that process.
Counter-Extremism Strategy
Debate between Baroness Uddin and Lord Hanson of Flint(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Lord for his Question and for the way he put it. The Commissioner for Countering Extremism makes recommendations to the Government, and we will consider all those recommendations in due course. There is a range of threats from the extreme right, from Islamist terrorism and from other forms of terrorism, and there is a real danger that people are radicalised in ways that are new to the next generation. We keep all things under review. The Government are cognisant of the fact that there are many threats, and the one that the noble Lord mentioned is very high on the list.
Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)
My Lords, in the last year there has been a 38% rise in attacks against Muslims, and a 33% rise in attacks against people who are Jewish—anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks. Will the Government ensure that in their search for solutions to eradicate extremism, leading figures are careful in the language they use and that schools are not unduly targeting young children for early indications of radicalisation?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
The Government condemn all attacks against all communities, because people have a right to live their lives according to their own beliefs and religious outlooks. We will certainly look to protect all communities. In fact, the Government have allocated resources to support particularly vulnerable places such as mosques and synagogues. We intend to ensure that we prevent radicalisation, and that means a wide-ranging Prevent programme, but we are sensitive to the fact that we do not wish to stigmatise people at a very young age.