Cooper orders review of anti-terror programme so ‘serious cases are not missed’
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The Home Secretary has ordered a “thorough review” of the Southport killer’s referrals to the Prevent anti-terror programme “to identify what changes are needed to make sure serious cases are not missed”. Yvette Cooper told MPs on Tuesday she had appointed Lord David Anderson KC as interim Prevent commissioner because “independent oversight” of the programme was needed.
Axel Rudakubana was reported to Prevent three times between 2019 and 2021 but the Home Office established each referral “should not have been closed”, she said. Speaking in the Commons Ms Cooper said Lord Anderson will start work “immediately”, adding: “His first task will be to conduct a thorough review of the Prevent history in this case to identify what changes are needed to make sure serious cases are not missed, particularly when there is mixed and unclear ideology.”.
Meanwhile the Home Office will look at the thresholds used for Prevent referrals to see how violent behaviour can be “urgently” addressed. It comes after officials in the department spent the summer investigating Rudakubana’s Prevent referrals and found, “given his age and complex needs”, they should not have been closed.
Ms Cooper said the referrals took place “between three and four years before the Southport attack, including following evidence that he was expressing interest in school shootings, in the London Bridge attack, the IRA, MI5 and the Middle East”, adding that on each occasion Rudakubana’s case was assessed by counter-terror police but not then sent for specialist support.
