Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what weight will be given to academic evidence reviewed as part of the Commission for Countering Extremism’s evidence drive compared to evidence from other sources.

The Government has made no assessment of the statement by Prevent Watch and has no plans to.

The Government’s 2015 Counter-Extremism Strategy sets out its commitment to protect communities from the wider social harms, beyond terrorism, caused by extremism. Extremists use their twisted narratives to justify hatred and division, spread intolerance, isolate communities and erode the rights of women and minorities. If left unchallenged these narratives fragment and divide our communities.

The Government launched the independent Commission for Countering Extremism in March 2018 alongside a Charter setting out the Commission’s purpose and early outputs. The Charter confirms both that the Commission will have no remit on counter-terrorism policies, including Prevent, and its status as a transparent organisation operating independently from Government.

The Commission’s weighting of the evidence it has gathered is a matter for the Commission.