Prominent experts, including former Conservative home secretaries, are cautioning against using extremism for political point scoring amid Michael Gove’s upcoming anti-extremism plan announcement. The Guardian has more.
Priti Patel, Sajid Javid and Amber Rudd are among a dozen signatories to a joint statement warning about the risks of politicising anti-extremism, just days before the Communities Secretary unveils his proposals.
Others who signed the statement include Brendan Cox, the widower of the MP Jo Cox and co-founder of Survivors Against Terror, Neil Basu, the former head of Counter-Terrorism Policing, and Richard Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff.
The warning comes days before Gove is set to publish the Government’s new official definition of extremism, which critics say will be so broad that it risks exacerbating community tensions and leaves ministers open to legal challenge.
The statement said: “In the run-up to a General Election, it’s particularly important that consensus is maintained and that no political party uses the issue to seek short-term tactical advantage.
“We urge the Labour Party and the Conservative Party to work together to build a shared understanding of extremism and a strategy to prevent it that can stand the test of time, no matter which party wins an election.”
Patel told the Guardian: “It is really important that we do not malign the wrong people through the wrong definitions. We haven’t seen anything yet from the Government, but it is easy, as we have seen historically, to hide behind labels or definitions which sometimes end up being counterproductive.
“None of this should ever be political. It has to strike the right balance between free speech and how we bring communities together.” …
Gove’s new definition of extremism will classify individuals or groups as extremist if they seek to undermine Britain’s system of liberal democracy. The Communities Secretary is set to instruct ministers and officials to cut off contact with groups or individuals who breach the new definition, and local authorities are expected to follow suit.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.