The British anti-terrorism programme Prevent, aimed at countering radicalisation, was again criticised after the disclosure that "cultural nationalism" was classified as 1 of the most common forms of “extremely right” terrorist ideology.
The updated training course of the Prevent program, available on gov.uk as an authoritative ‘refresher awareness course’, contains a evidence that the belief that Western culture is threatened by mass migration and deficiency of integration from any cultural and cultural groups, may form the basis for referring the citizen to the deradiation program. This information has been disclosed The Telegraph June 6th.
In the course, the definition includes persons convinced that:
“The Western culture is threatened by mass migration and deficiency of integration by any cultural and cultural groups.”
Although the definition of "cultural nationalism" has not been regulated by law, it has been included in educational materials as a subcategory of extremism, alongside white nationalism and racial supremacy. This means that those who are afraid about Britain's social and cultural future can be officially considered susceptible to radicalisation. According to the procedures in force, representatives of public institutions specified as schools, universities, hospitals or police may apply to the Prevent programme. Data from persons placed under the procedure shall be sent to databases where they are stored for a minimum of six years and made available in the framework of cooperation between safety services.
The program, which aimed at detecting real terrorist threats, was previously criticised for ineffectiveness – 1 example was the case of Axel Rudakumana, the perpetrator of the Southport murder, who was 3 times reported to Prevent, without effective action. The current extension of the criteria to the views of the democratic public debate has raised opposition from both academics and parts of the political class.
Lord Young of the Free Speech Union organization wrote to Home Minister Yvette Cooper, calling for the immediate removal of controversial records. He pointed out that with specified a broad definition, even mainstream politicians' statements could be considered suspicious. He recalled that Robert Jenrick warned against the consequences of uncontrolled migration, and Labour organization leader Keir Starmer said that without fair migration rules, Britain could become a "island of strangers."
In the light of the latest guidelines, the number of votes demanding transparency, proportionality and protection of fundamental civilian rights is increasing. Critics inform that classifying legitimate political views as possibly extremist can undermine public assurance in state institutions and restrict freedom of expression in the UK.
