The former chancellor announced measures to boost the Prevent program on Tuesday night as part of a bid to boost his campaign to succeed Boris Johnson as the next prime minister. These would lead to more people being referred to Prevent by widening the definition of “extremism” to include those who “defame” Britain, with Sunak pledging to focus on “weeding out those who are passionate about their hatred of our country”. But former counter-terrorism chief Sir Peter Fachy, who was also chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, questioned the precise meaning of “defamation”. He said: “Enlarging Prevent could damage its credibility and reputation. He makes it more about people’s thoughts and opinions. “It is misleading in thought crimes and political views.” He added: “The political opposition is not where the police should be, they are the ones who pose a serious threat and risk of violence, not those who oppose the political systems.” Sunak said on Tuesday night that “Britain is a beacon of freedom, tolerance and diversity”, warning to “never allow those who seek to undermine and destroy our way of life to succeed”. He said he would refocus the Prevent program on tackling Islamic extremism, which he called the UK’s “most significant terrorist threat”. He also promised to “weed out and cut down organizations that promote extremism in the UK” and added: “There is no more important duty for a Prime Minister than to keep our country and our people safe.” Extremism is defined in the 2011 Prevent strategy as “the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”, as well as calls for the death of armed personnel of forces. Sunak’s team promised to widen this to include “hybridizing the UK” to ensure “those who have an extreme hatred of our country that leads them to endanger national security can be identified and diverted from a catastrophic course”. They stressed that it is not a legally binding definition and simply criticizing the government or any of its policies would not count as libel, but instead “help the public sector in its work to keep the UK safe”. Prevent had previously been at odds over whether it should cover those critical of UK foreign policy and Britain’s conduct in the Iraq War in 2003. In recent years the police side of Prevent has sought to focus much more on those at risk of fall into terrorist violence. Those working in the public sector are required to report concerns to Prevent, which has previously caused disruption. Their information is the lifeblood of the anti-radicalisation system, which has suffered allegations that it has drifted into suppressing freedom of thought and speech. Fahy said: “The danger is the perception it creates that teachers and health workers are involved in state surveillance.” “What does hubris mean? Offense should be carefully defined.’ Former counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu said Prevent was the most important arm of the UK’s fight against violent extremism. A government-mandated review of the program has been handed over to officials, but there is no public timetable for its release. Sunak’s pledges to improve security include blocking terrorists from trying to “abuse our human rights framework” by classifying them differently from the general prison population through a new bill of rights. vetting publicly funded third-party organizations to ensure no extremist groups receive taxpayer cash; and funneling those referred to Prevent who need mental health support the most. “Whether I’m redoubling our efforts to counter Islamic extremism or rooting out those who are vehement in their hatred of our country, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that duty,” he said.
