312. Data from 2019/20 (ending in March 2020) shows that a total of 6,738 individuals were subject to a Prevent referral due to concerns that they were vulnerable to radicalisation. Out of this total, 1,387 were referred for concerns relating to Right-Wing Extremism, compared to 1,487 individuals who were referred for concerns relating to Islamist extremism.[1]
313. Data from 2020/2021 (ending in March 2021) showed that a total of 7,000 people had been referred to Prevent. Out of this total, 1,680 were referred due to concerns about Islamist extremism and 1,540 were referred due to concerns about Right-Wing Extremism.[2]
314. Of those referred, many people who come into 'the system' are not suitable for intervention (from the Prevent programme) as they may already be on another intervention programme. In 2020/2021, of the 7,000 referred, just under 700 were formally adopted into the Prevent programme. The Home Office told the Committee that more Intervention Providers with specific expertise in the Extreme Right Wing are being recruited to handle the increased number of referrals.[3]
Prevent initiatives on ERWT
Homeland Security Group has provided Channel panels and Intervention Providers with bespoke training regarding the XRW threat. This includes:
- A four-day 'Extremist Narratives' course on both Islamist and ERWT, which launched in May 2019. So far, 26 Channel Intervention Providers and 11 Desistance and Disengagement Programme Intervention Providers have attended this course.
- A one-day workshop on 'Right-Wing Extremist Narratives' for Channel panel chairs and a one-day workshop on ‘Understanding Radicalisation' for all Channel panel members.
- A communications campaign involved working with the Hollyoaks production team who were covering an XRW story-line, incorporating a Prevent referral. Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ) and a Channel Intervention Provider worked closely with the production team to ensure accuracy and also to promote Prevent. CTPHQ have provided schools with lesson plans focused around XRW.
- Counter Terrorism Local Profiles (CTLPS), created from intelligence-reporting, terrorism-related arrests and Prevent referrals detail the Far-Right threat at a local level. These profiles are used by local authorities, local policing, force contest boards and other partners to determine the Prevent response.[4]
Cross-Government
315. The role of other parts of Government would appear to be key to the successful delivery of Prevent—not least the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care (a number of those who have been convicted of ERWT offences, for example, suffer from mental health problems). Homeland Security Group told the Committee that:
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