Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to review the strategy for Prevent in the context of (a) the Southport attacks and (b) other recent incidents.

The Home Secretary announced the creation of a new Independent Prevent Commissioner role in a statement to the House on 17 December 2024.

The Commissioner role will help ensure Prevent is working effectively by reviewing its legislation, policies and operations and making sure it is implemented as intended.  It will also oversee and assure implementation of recommendations from reports, reviews, coronial processes, and Prevent Learning Reviews.

Lord David Anderson KC was announced as the interim Commissioner on 21 January, to allow work to begin swiftly. Lord Anderson has been asked to conduct a rapid review of the perpetrators’ Prevent history in the case of the Southport murders and the murder of Sir David Amess. He will examine improvements made to Prevent since 2021 and determine whether they have sufficiently strengthened the Prevent system, and identify any remaining gaps or shortcomings that require further improvement and assure action to address them.

An open competition to recruit the permanent Independent Prevent Commissioner was launched on 14 February.