The country’s top counter terrorism police officer last night urged Muslim and human rights groups not to boycott a review of Prevent, the principal counter extremism programme.
Neil Basu, an assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, argued for all sides of the debate to be heard to bring “lasting improvement to this vital strategy”.
His remarks appear after the government appointed William Shawcross, a former chairman of the Charity Commission, as its independent reviewer, last week.
Prevent is the UK government’s ground war against extremism. But the programme is considered to be controversial as a counter-terrorism strategy by industry experts. It seeks both to educate communities about the risks of radicalisation and stage interventions with vulnerable individuals long before any crime has been committed.
Previously in an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had stressed that “although Prevent has its critics, we have to do everything we can to stop people getting on the pathway to radicalism and extremism”.
The independent review was already delayed and the backlash after last month’s announcement by the Home Office that it would be headed by Shawcross has further added to the troubles. The Muslim Council of Britain said he held “hostile views” on Islam.
Some 17 groups with an interest in human rights, including Liberty and Amnesty International, said they would boycott the re view, claiming that it would be a rubber-stamping exercise. Neil Basu has repeatedly said that Prevent is the most important part of the government’s counter terrorism strategy.
He told The Guardian that counter Terrorism police had long been advocates of an in de pen dent re
view.
He said, “We will, of course, work with the government’s chosen reviewer, because we believe the process will give our Prevent practitioners the opportunity to share their many years of expertise and in sight, with the hope of bringing lasting improvement to this vital strategy.
“But we also recognise how important the support and trust of our communities will be if we are to continue to protect vulnerable people, and so it is with great disappointment that I read some key groups plan to boycott the reviewal together.
“I would urge them to reconsider, because only when all sides of the discussion are heard can this review achieve what it sets out to achieve.”
