Spying must not be a part of Prevent, Denham warns

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An under fire government programme to tackle violent extremism will be strengthened in response to concerns, communities secretary John Denham said yesterday.

Speaking at an event in Birmingham, Mr Denham said that the government is looking at ways of making the Prevent programme more effective, but acknowledged that concerns about it need to be tackled.

He also confirmed that the government will be investing a further £5m in cohesion and that this funding will also be used to fight far right or racist extremism.  

Mr Denham praised local responses to a rise in far right extremism over the summer and noted that although these were not organised under the banner of Prevent, almost always the same people and partnerships were involved.

'I want to make it clear today: any area facing far right or racist extremist problems which divide communities should have a strategy for addressing those problems,' he added.  'And those areas should be resourced for that work.'

Mr Denham defended the government over accusations that Prevent encouraged public sector workers to spy on individuals vulnerable to extremism.

He said statutory agencies have a role to identify individuals who may be at risk of drifting into violent crime, but added that this cannot be a secret or covert activity.

'There should not be any information gathering or information sharing about the
community aspects of Prevent work which cannot be openly acknowledged with all members of the partnership and the wider community,' he insisted.

Mr Denham's comments follow evidence heard by committee of MPs last week, which suggested that the programme had increased distrust of local authorities and failed to tackle deep-seated problems.

Other complaints from witnesses at the select committee included the fact that long-term issues that affected the Muslim community prior to 9/11 were not being addressed.

Mr Denham acknowledged that the typical Muslim family is much more concerned about jobs, housing and education than they are about violent extremism. 

He said: 'This government will continue to work with the Muslim community as we work with all communities – taking in all the issues which matter to them.'