What the Coalition Government called a radically different strategy to prevent people being drawn into terrorism was unveiled on June 7 by Home Secretary Theresa May.
All new programmes will be evaluated rigorously to ensure effectiveness and value for money, the Home Office said.<br><br>Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Prevent is an integral part of our counter-terrorism strategy and aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.<br><br>"Our new Prevent strategy will challenge extremist ideology, help protect institutions from extremists, and tackle the radicalisation of vulnerable people. And we will not fund or work with organisations that do not subscribe to the core values of our society.<br><br>"Above all, it will tackle the threat from home-grown terrorism."<br><br>The new strategy was published alongside a detailed review of past Prevent work and an assessment of the extent and causes of radicalisation in this country and overseas. The new strategy included work to tackle terrorist use of the internet for radicalisation, including the filtering of unlawful content by public bodies such as schools and libraries; and work with industry and international partners to crack down on unlawful content hosted in the UK and overseas; and what the Home Office termed greater support for universities and colleges, training staff to recognise the signs of radicalisation and improving awareness of help available to them.<br><br>The budget for Prevent in 2011/12 will be £46million – £36million from the Home Office and £10million from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.<br><br>Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of the Prevent review, said: "This new Prevent strategy has my full support. It provides a template for challenging the extremist ideas and terrorist actions which seek to undermine the rule of law and fundamental British political values and institutions.<br><br>"Its tone is clear, and its policy compelling. It offers a positive message for mutual respect, tolerance and liberty."<br><br>To see a full copy of the Prevent review report, go to the Home Office website.<br><br>As for the Prevent strategy in universities, comment pointed to the right to free even radical speech on campuses versus free speech being abused; and the university background of some UK and overseas known terrorist plotters. Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of umbrella body Universities UK, said: โThis is an important issue for us all in society. Universities must continue to be vigilant." As background, in February Universities UK brought out a document on this subject, Freedom of speech on campus: rights and responsibilities in UK universities. You can download at –
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Pages/Freedomofspeechoncampus.aspx
<br><br>She went on: โUniversities have been addressing issues of security on campus for many years. In 2005, Universities UK issued guidance to all universities which was updated in 2007. And earlier this year, Universities UK published a further report offering updated and practical guidance to institutions on how to balance their obligations in relation to free speech and security on campus. This report was the result of a Universities UK working group set up last year to look at this issue. The final report revealed that universities have engaged extensively with the Prevent agenda and that there is good liaison between universities and the police and security services.<br><br>โWe need to be very clear here about distinguishing between the expression of views which encourage violence, and views which are not violent or otherwise unlawful. The first have no place on campus and have to be banned. But as a matter of law universities have to allow views which are not violent to be expressed and challenged, however offensive they may be. <br><br>โIf illegal behaviour takes place on campus, universities deal with the police and relevant authorities. Security legislation requires universities to disclose to the police information that may relate to terrorist offences. Universities take these obligations extremely seriously.<br><br>โOf course it can be extremely difficult to draw the line between speakers whose views are extreme and radical on the one hand, and therefore lawful, and speakers whose views go further than that and incite hatred and violence. But that is the line that needs to be drawn. Universities are gaining more and more experience in handling these issues and our latest guidance offers good-practice advice on this area.<br><br>โIt is worth remembering that over 40 per cent of young people in the UK now enter higher education, so care must be taken when making sweeping statements about the link between people attending university and becoming radicalised. University is just one of many influences in young people’s lives. Equally important is that universities are conducting extensive research into terrorism and security issues, and are therefore also contributing to the agenda in that important way.<br><br>โWe are pleased to see the strategy also addressing the issue of people becoming self-radicalised by accessing extremist and violent material online. This reflects the complexity and variety of factors that may lead to a vulnerable person becoming involved in violent and unlawful activities. The influence of the internet and easy availability of access to online materials has to be a major concern.<br><br>โThis is a hugely complex and sensitive area and we should look to the evidence about what is happening, carefully consider it and leave no room for rhetoric or spurious solutions.<br><br>โUniversities UK will be hosting an event next month to talk about this issue and to look at how the revised Prevent strategy can be implemented by universities.โ<br>
