Counter Terror Business - Prevent

New measures to tackle extremism on university campuses

Polly Jones — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:26:53 +0000

The government has set out new measures to tackle extremism, harassment and intimidation on university campuses.

The new measures will help universities meet their Prevent Duty, while the Office for Students will strengthen how it monitors whether universities are meeting Prevent responsibilities.

Updated guidance has been published around the management of external speakers and events, where providers are urged to carry out risk checks.

Data shows growing pressure on institutions deadline with extremism and hate incidents and Prevent referrals have increased by more than a quarter over the last year.

The Office for Students will have the power to sanction or deregister institutions that do not comply with conditions of registration. The government will work with the Office for Students, so staff can report wrongdoing directly to the regulator, when they don't feel they can report internally.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Universities often reflect the wider tensions playing out across our society. When conflicts or global events dominate the headlines, those debates and emotions can quickly be felt on campuses across the UK.

"We know our institutions work incredibly hard to support their students and uphold the law, but it is vital they can continue a zero-tolerance approach to those who incite hatred or draw students into terrorism.

"We will work closely with universities to ensure students and staff feel safe and supported, while protecting the open debate and academic freedom that are central to university life."

Parents urged to be vigilant of children's online activity

Polly Jones — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Counter Terrorism Policing London is urging parents to be vigilant about their children's online activity, with many buying phones and tablets for Christmas in the Black Friday sales.

Referrals to Prevent in London have increased by more than a third (38 per cent) in the last year. This increased has mainly been driven by a record number of referrals due to concerns about the vulnerability to radicalisation of children under the age of 18.

Many children referred to Prevent have no identifiable ideology, but they have accessed terrorist-related content online, or developed a fascination with extreme violence they have found via internet searches or social media.

There has also be an increase in children being arrested for terrorism-related activity over the past four years. According to the latest figures from the �鶹�� Office, there was a record-high number of terrorism arrests for those aged 17 and under in the year ending June 2025.

Warning signs parents should look out for include children becoming more isolated from friends or family, speaking as though they are reading from a script or being secretive about who they are meeting or speaking to online.

Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, who is the Met’s London Prevent Co-ordinator, said: “I know lots of children will receive new phones or tablets this Christmas, with many purchased over the coming weekend’s sales, so it’s vital that parents are setting appropriate controls to ensure their children are kept safe on their devices.

“It is extremely concerning to see more and more young people in our caseload, who are accessing extremist, violent and terrorist-related content online.

“That is why we need both parental and public help with this – to protect children from encountering this type of material in the first place and to prevent them from disappearing into dark and dangerous spaces online.

“As well as setting parental controls on devices, I’d also urge parents and carers to take an active interest in their children’s digital lives to try and ensure they don’t become drawn towards this kind of material. And if you do have concerns, then the best thing to do is ACT Early and reach out to us for help – before it’s too late.”

Prevent referrals at record levels

Polly Jones — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 12:53:06 +0000

According to new data, a record number of new referrals were made to Prevent in the year to March.

Referrals increased by more than a quarter to 8778.

The type of concern that received the most referrals was "no ideology identified" or "no ideology – other susceptibility to radicalisation identified".

The second highest was "extreme right-wing", which received 1,798 referrals, followed by Islamist extremism at 870 referrals.

For referrals where ethnicity was included, the vast majority cited 'white', with 2,747. 798 were recorded as Asian and 320 as black.

Where the person's age was known, children aged between 11 and 15 years old made up the largest proportion at 36 per cent of the total or 3,192 referrals. Those aged 16 to 17 made up the second highest proportion. There were 345 referrals for children under 10.

The increase in referrals could be linked to an increase in awareness linked to the Southport attack and the Netflix drama Adolescence.

Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana was referred to prevent three times, but his case was closed as there was no evidence that he had a fixed ideology or motivation.

A review into Prevent and the Southport attack found that the case was closed prematurely and there was sufficient evidence that Rudakubana's case should have been escalated.

Between the attack on 29 July 2024 and 31 March 2025, Prevent referrals rose by 34 per cent compared the same period the year before. However, the �鶹�� Office said that "trends cannot be directly attributed to the Southport attack".

Counter Terrorism Policing’s Senior National Coordinator for Pursue and Prevent, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, said:

Senior National Coordinator for Pursue and Prevent, DAC Vicki Evans said: “The latest Prevent statistics should act as yet another warning about the risks posed to our children by the online environment, and the extremist content they’re being exposed to.

“This year a record number of young and vulnerable people have been referred to Prevent because of concerns over radicalisation, with current trends indicating that these numbers will increase even more in the future."

She continued: “Prevent has successfully diverted thousands of people away from terrorism since its inception. But to manage the complex variety of risks and threats we face, it is vital there is a whole system response in place, with Prevent responsible for managing those at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

“By this, we mean that wider partners outside of law enforcement and counter terrorism must be equipped to work alongside Prevent to manage the full spectrum of complex behaviours and risk.

“Coordinated action across government, robust regulation and moderation, as well as finding innovative ways to inform young people and families about the threats they face, is now critical."

�鶹�� Office report makes recommendations for Prevent

Meghan Shaw — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:45:36 +0000

The �鶹�� Office has published its ‘Lessons for Prevent’ review yesterday (16th July 2025), which discusses the role of Prevent in the murder of Sir David Amess MP in 2021 and the murders of three young girls in Southport last year by Axel Rudakubana. It was carried out by the interim independent Prevent commissioner Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE KC.

This was first ordered by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, in January after it was found out that Rudakubana was referred to Prevent, the government’s programme to stop people from becoming terrorists, three times. It is part of the UK’s CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy, and operates across England, Scotland and Wales. The then-17-year-old stabbed three young girls to death at a dance class in Southport in July 2024, and attempted to murder eight other children and two adults.

The report, later, was asked to include the failings of Ali Harbi Ali’s case, who assassinated the MP in a constituency surgery, which has been categorised as a terrorist attack.

The report details that he was referred to Prevent by his school in 2014, and then Channel, which decided to offer him an Intervention Provider. Here, Prevent “functioned well”. But, this was followed by a “long string of failings” which the report described as “the product of poor judgement, poor communication and lack of follow-through.” In Harbi Ali’s initial meeting with his Intervention Provider, he concealed his true believes, and this was not followed by any further meetings that the police had commissioned.

The report says that if these errors had not been made, Prevent would have undoubtedly uncovered the full extent of Harbi Ali’s descent into terrorism, averting his 2021 crime.

The case for Rudakubana is more complicated: he was not sentenced as a terrorist due to a lack of clear ideology, but had been referred to Prevent by his school three times between 2019 and 2021. This saw his school present the police with three opportunities to progress towards Channel, a voluntary and confidential early intervention programme that supports rather than punishes those at risk of terrorism, but none of these were not taken, even though he was already showing an interest in terrorism and disturbed characteristics. He was not even referred for information-gathering, as had been recommended. Anderson believes he should have been.

The report asserts that had these measures been implemented, they would have had the “potential to make a material difference”, and Anderson recommends policy that “violence-fascinated individuals” who had not particularly ideology but may have the potential to commit crimes with similarities to acts of terrorism, should continue to be accommodated within Prevent.

Anderson also concludes that Prevent would be more effective if “embedded within a comprehensive violence prevention strategy, behind a “big front door””.

Although Prevent remains controversial, Anderson affirms that it has the power to make positive change, although is not always possible.

He then makes ten recommendations around five points: Prevent should apply to those who have no fixed ideology but a fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks; Prevent could function better if formally connected to a broader safeguarding and violence protection system; Prevent needs to adapt to the online world where so much radicalisation takes place; public transparency about the structures, systems and statistics of Prevent should be the default; and information-sharing and engagement should be improved.

On the report, Counter Terrorism Policing’s senior national coordinator for prevent and pursue, deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans said: “Counter Terrorism Policing welcomes Lord Anderson’s report and remains committed to understanding the full extent of the circumstances which led to the murders of Sir David Amess MP in 2021, and of innocent children in Southport last year.

“Not only is it the least those affected by these acts of violence deserve, but it is only through this understand that we can identify where the Prevent system can be improved to keep pace with evolving threats and strengthen our protection of the public alongside our partners.

“We are grateful to Lord Anderson for the time he spent speaking to CTP officers and staff directly involved in those cases, and to other colleagues who explained how are have responded to the recommendations of previous reviews.

“We will now carefully reflect on the report and its recommendations, and continue to work alongside the government, security services, wider policing and other partners to ensure that systems designed to keep the public safe from harm do exactly that.”

Open competitions launched to find independent Prevent commissioner and commissioner for countering extremism

Polly Jones — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 10:04:21 +0000

The government as launched to open competitions to fill the roles of independent Prevent commissioner and commissioner for countering extremism.

In December 2024, the home secretary announced the introduction of a new independent Prevent commissioner role. The following month, Lord David Anderson KC was appointed on an interim basis until the appointment of a permanent holder.

In the role, the commission will have the remit of reviewing the programme’s effectiveness, identifying gaps and problems before they emerge.

A competition has also been launched for the role of commissioner for countering extremism. Robin Simcox's fixed term appointment is due to end in July. The Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) provides the government with independent expert advice on extremism.

Meanwhile, the role of independent adviser on political violence and disruption, previously held by Lord Walney, will come to an end with the CCE taking forward work as part of its new strengthened remit.

Security minister, Dan Jarvis, said: "To continue our fight against extremism and terrorism in whatever form they take, we need expert advice and oversight. The role holders will be crucial in those efforts, and I look forward to working with the successful candidates.

"I would also like to thank Lord Walney and Robin Simcox for their work in their respective roles as Independent Advisor on Political Violence and Disruption and as Commissioner for Countering Extremism."

Sir David Amess Prevent Learning Review published

Meghan Shaw — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:28:39 +0000

Commissioned by both Counter Terrorism Policing and the �鶹�� Office, a Prevent Learning Review has been published, following the murder of Sir David Amess in October 2021.

Sir David Amess MP was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Southend West from 1997 until his murder at a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church Hall in Leigh-on-Sea, and was declared a “terrorist incident” by the Metropolitan Police. He was stabbed to death by Ali Harbi Ali in 2021, who was referred to Prevent in 2014 by his school following his teachers identifying a change in behaviour, but was closed in 2016, following his referral to the Channel scheme, which is an early intervention programme that supports people who may be at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

Ali was convicted of murder in April 2022 and received a whole life order.

The government’s Prevent scheme has recently been under contention, following a report into its handling of the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, who was referred to and rejected from Prevent three times.

Prevent learning reviews are carried out where a terrorist attack or serious violence offence has been committed by someone who had previously been enrolled on the Prevent programme. They intend to identify internal learning within the Prevent system and are flexible and scalable depending on the severity of the incident.

The review found six issues: the support given to Ali did not tackle all vulnerabilities identified, the record keeping was ineffective and there was not explicit justification for certain decisions, and the responsibilities between the police and local authority were blurred. Other problems were an outdated tool for identifying an individual’s vulnerability to radicalisation, the school that made the Prevent referral should have been involved in discussions to discuss his risk and what support would be needed, and a miscommunication that led to only one session being given rather than two.

The reviewer made four recommendations to improve Prevent in the future, which are improving the referral process, strengthening initial assessment processes, updating the tool used to define vulnerability to terrorism, and not reducing data retention periods. The �鶹�� Office and Counter Terrorism Policing have since implemented all four of these recommendations.

On Ali’s Prevent Learning Review, published yesterday (12th February), head of counter terrorism policing Matt Jukes said: “The murder of Sir David Amess MP in October 2021 horrified the nation and was a direct assault of our democracy. I have heard first-hand from his constituents about Sir David’s life of public service.

“I have also heard from his family about their terrible loss, and they are in my thoughts today.

“It is clear that the Prevent Learning Review where the management and handling of Ali Harbi Ali’s case in 2014 should have been better.

“The report also acknowledges that by the time of the attack in 2021, significant changes had been made, and more work has been done since then to act upon the review’s recommendations.

“Difficult decisions in steering people away from radicalisation continue to be made every day, and with almost 60,000 Prevent referrals in the latest decade, we owe it to all those affected, including those making the decisions, to take every opportunity possible to improve the system.

“It is critical that we use reviews such as this to ensure the system works now, and in the future, so that other families are spared the pain felt by the loved ones of Sir David.”

Southport Prevent Learning Review published

Polly Jones — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 09:59:17 +0000

A Prevent Learning Review after the Southport attack has been published.

The review was jointly-commissioned by Counter Terrorism Policing and the �鶹�� Office.

Prevent learning reviews are carried out after a terrorist attack or serious violent offence has been committed by someone with prior involvement in the Prevent programme. Reviews are aimed at identifying internal learning within the Prevent system.

In the case of the Southport attack, an independent Prevent learning review was conducted to review the contacts the perpetrator had with the Prevent system.

The �鶹�� Office is working with Counter Terrorism Policing to follow up on the recommendations from the review and embed the learning into the Prevent system.

The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, was referred to Prevent three times, the first time by his teacher in 2019. The teacher raised concerns over his behaviours including being excluded from his previous school for carrying a knife and searching for mass school shootings on the internet using his school account. In discussion with Prevent officers, Rudakubana accounted for his searches and the case was closed two months later.

A second referral was made by the attacker's previous school in February 2021 after social media posts led to concerns that he was being radicalised. In this case, Prevent officers acknowledged the first review, but considered the posts were not counter-terror or domestic extremism relevant. The case was closed two weeks later.

A third referral was received from a teacher in April 2021, which reported that Rudakubana had internet tabs open during a lesson showing a search for London Bomb and seemed to have a passionate interest in Israel/Palestine conflict, MI5 and the IRA. In this case, Prevent officers acknowledged the two previous referrals, but considered that his needs were met outside of Prevent and there were no counter terror or domestic extremism concerns. The case was closed a few weeks later.

The review concludes that there was a high level of compliance by the Prevent officers with process timescales, assessment completion and adherence to policy that were in place at the time. However, in this case it is subjective decisions that are the focal point and Rudakubana should have been referred to Channel.

The review has identified areas for learning to strengthen risk assessments, including around understanding indicators of radicalisation where a coherent ideology is not present and recognising the risk from repeat referrals.

A number of recommendations have also been made, which include strengthening training and guidance, changes to terminology used within Prevent, and improving assurance processes.

Following the publication of the review, Matt Jukes, head of Counter Terrorism Policing said: “In this case, there were at least 15 contact points with public services – health, education and social care systems, and the police.

“We want to see a system where every one of those contacts counts, and where the sum total of all of them taken together is seen as the red flag that it should be.

“Prevent referrals when Rudakubana was 13 and 14-years-old did not prove to be that turning point, and nor did later contact with other services.

“We have made changes to how multiple Prevent referrals are dealt with since 2021, but we take nothing for granted and must ensure we are always looking for further improvements to protect people from harm.

“We want to ensure that the right information is being gathered when cases are assessed, and that they are managed in the right place."

He continued: “Around the world, we are seeing growing numbers of young people drawn not only to terrorism but also into extreme violence online of all forms, and contending with mental health and social challenges.

“As others have recognised, as well as ensuring Prevent plays its part, new interventions for young people fixated on violence rather than terrorist ideology are needed, and their cases should have a clear home. They should not be passed from organisation to organisation."

Jonathan Hall KC's appointment extended

Polly Jones — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:23:15 +0000

The home secretary has announced the appointment extensions of Jonathan Hall KC as the government’s Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation and Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.

The extensions are for a period of 18 months, meaning he will stay in the roles until November 2026.

The role of independent oversight of state threats legislation was introduced in February 2024 following commencement of the National Security Act 2023. The role serves to assess the fairness, effectiveness and proportionality of UK state threats legislation, and report their findings and recommendations.

Hall is a barrister in independent practice and has been a King’s Counsel since 2014.

Prevent Duty self-assessment tool for school staff launched

Robyn Quick — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 09:02:00 +0000

A free self-assessment quiz for teachers on the government's Prevent Duty has been launched by education technology charity LGfL–The National Grid for Learning.

The 'Prevent Quiz for Staff' is a multiple choice assessment that consists of 25 questions based around the �鶹�� Office’s recently updated Prevent duty guidance (2023) and the Department for Education’s (DfE) Part 1 Keeping Children Safe in Education (2023), designed to ensure that individual staff have understood all the mandatory safeguarding information.

The quick quiz covers all aspects of the guidance including radicalisation, British values, responding to concerns and more.

Designated Safeguarding Leads can follow up staff training with the quiz.

Once completed, the staff receive their results via email, with corrections to any questions answered incorrectly, and feedback on areas to revisit in the guidance. The assessment results also allow DSLs to identify any gaps in training, and areas for further development.

Mubina Asaria, Online Safeguarding Consultant at LGfL-The National Grid for Learning, said: "At LGfL we always aim to be proactive and responsive to the needs of schools and staff. During DSL training sessions, it became apparent that schools would find it useful to be able to log and evidence Prevent training for Ofsted inspections, so we developed the Prevent Quiz for Staff.

"The quiz is already proving a real hit with schools, it’s a simple and quick way of keeping records and providing data."

The twenty five questions are posed in the form of scenarios and statements, enabling participants to decide on the best response or responses to the situation, following their training on the Prevent duty guidance.

Standards and Compliance Unit launched to oversee Prevent

Robyn Quick — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 09:57:16 +0000

A Standards and Compliance Unit (StaCU) has been launched to oversee the Prevent programme, the Commission for Countering Extremism has announced today.

The unit, part of the Commission for Countering Extremism, will investigate complaints about how the Prevent duty has been applied.

Prevent is a government-led programme aiming to stop vulnerable people being drawn into extremism.

StaCU, the creation of which was recommended by Sir William Shawcross in the Independent Review of Prevent, is meant to ensure that Prevent is being delivered properly within the direction set by ministers.

Robin Simcox, commissioner for countering extremism, said StaCU will help to "retain public trust and confidence."

He added: "Prevent has a vital role to play in keeping our country safe from the evils of terrorism and extremism."

StaCU will review any complaints and update the complainant of the outcome.

Where complaints require investigation, StaCU will work closely with statutory bodies and in conjunction with existing organisational complaints processes.

The Commission for Countering Extremism will also publish annual reports sharing details on numbers and types of complaints received by StaCU.