Cooper blocks call for misogyny crimes to be treated as extremism
Cooper blocks call for misogyny crimes to be treated as extremism
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The home secretary said the government will continue to focus its anti-terror efforts on Islamist and far-right extremism. Yvette Cooper has rejected calls for misogynists, conspiracy theorists, the far left and potentially violent environmental activists to be treated as extremists.
![[Keir Starmer said the government’s priority was focusing resources on the most pressing threats]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/28/08/newFile-2.jpg)
The home secretary has said she disagrees with the findings of a rapid review ordered into extremism in the wake of the Southport attacks, choosing instead to continue focusing the government’s anti-terror efforts on Islamist and far-right extremism.
![[Axel Rudakubana was referred to the Prevent anti-terror programme three times (Merseyside Police /PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/27/22/328d6f43f39d998f5b52a6f5dd891b4eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM4MDg5MzEy-2.78775403.jpg)
It comes after the “rapid analytical sprint on extremism” she commissioned in August following the riots sparked by the Southport murders was leaked to the right-leaning Policy Exchange think tank. A Home Office spokesperson said the government is "considering a wide range of potential next steps arising" from the report.
"The counter-extremism sprint sought to comprehensively assess the challenge facing our country and lay the foundations for a new approach to tackling extremism - so we can stop people being drawn towards hateful ideologies," the spokesperson said. "This includes tackling Islamism and extreme right-wing ideologies, which are the most prominent today.”.
The leaked report suggested the UK’s approach to extremism should be based on troubling behaviours and activity rather than ideologies. Those include spreading misinformation, influencing racism, and involvement in “an online subculture called the manosphere”, according to the right-leaning think tank.
