Government not adopting expanded extremism definition, security minister says
Government not adopting expanded extremism definition, security minister says
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The Government is not adopting the findings of a leaked report which called for environmentalists and the far-left to be branded extremists, the security minister said. A leaked copy of the “rapid analytical sprint on extremism” commissioned by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in August following the summer riots suggested widening the definition of extremism to cover a wider range of groups.
The report leaked to Policy Exchange said the UK’s approach to extremism should be based on concerning 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.
Security minister Dan Jarvis told the Commons the report “does not and will not represent Government policy”. Mr Jarvis also told MPs: “Many documents are produced across Government as part of commissioned work which are not implemented and which do not constitute Government policy.
“This work did not recommend an expansion in the definition of extremism, and there are not and have never been any plans to do so. “To be clear, the leaked documents were not current or new Government policy, as we have said repeatedly. Islamist extremism, followed by far-right extremism, are the biggest threats that we face.”.
While ministers are set to continue the focus on the terror threat from Islamists and the far-right, Mr Jarvis said there is a need for “more action on those drawn towards mixed ideologies and violence-obsessed young people”, like Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.
