Curb extremism now or face new terrorist threats, Labour warned
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Experts say measures announced so far are not enough to turn the tide. Labour must reverse years of political failure on extremism to stop it fuelling more disorder, violence and terrorism in Britain, leading figures have said. Neil Basu, the former head of counter-terrorism policing, and Dame Sara Khan, previously the government’s counter-extremism tsar, warned that proposals unveiled last month would not be enough to address a toxic pool of hatred, conspiracy theories and “dangerous rhetoric” from high-profile figures including Elon Musk.
![[Dame Sara Khan]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3d88ea060bc8056cf12c9cf7072311c330fa9982/0_852_3968_2929/master/3968.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, last month announced increased funding for counter-terrorism police, plans to strengthen the Prevent counter-terrorism scheme and a new independent commissioner to oversee its effectiveness. However, that role overlaps with the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE), which was set up after the 2017 terrorist attacks, and the Observer understands a decision is yet to be made on the CCE’s future.
Khan, who led the commission from 2018 to 2021, welcomed Labour’s creation of an independent Prevent commissioner but said a separate body was still needed to counter extremism and related threats, including disinformation and conspiracy theories.
“Extremism is a societal problem and requires a societal response,” she said. “Trying to counter extremism through the lens of counter-terrorism and national security has to date been a futile, flawed and failed approach.”. Basu, who led UK counter-terrorism policing from 2018 to 2021, said Prevent does not have the capacity to tackle non-violent extremism, and a “coherent strategy” is needed.
