The government’s counterterrorism programme has become an “extension of social services”, a review is expected to say.
Teachers are among the public workers referring youngsters to Prevent for increasingly broad signs of extremism. One 11-year-old was flagged to the programme after saying, during a fire drill, that he wished his school would burn down, the review is said to have found.
A source said the number referred for trivial incidents had overwhelmed Prevent and left the authorities struggling to identify those who did pose a threat. The source told The Times: “It has become an extension of social services, which has led to people slipping through the net and carrying out attacks.”
It is understood that the overarching recommendation from William Shawcross, who chaired the review, is for Prevent to be re-programmed to its primary goal of tacking radicalisation, rather than being used to pick up all forms of extremism. The review is said to have recommended that MI5 and counterterrorism police should be given greater influence in deciding whether to intervene with individuals. It has suggested curbing the role of local agencies and community groups in deciding whether those flagged as at risk of radicalisation should be pursued.
