As the UK’s “most significant terror threat,” Islamist extremism will be a top priority for British-Indian prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak, who made the pledge during a speech in London on Wednesday. He called for a broader government definition of extremism and a tightening of existing anti-terrorism legislation.
To combat the “failed” government’s “Prevent” anti-extremism campaign, 42-year-old ex-Chancellor George Osborne has also pledged to rid the United Kingdom of extremist organizations and refocus the “failing” Prevent program.
With that in mind, Sunak remarked, “There is no more vital role for a Prime Minister than keeping our country and our people secure.”
“I will do all it takes to fulfill that commitment, whether it means doubling down on our efforts to combat Islamist extremism or removing those who are loud in their hatred of our country.” Freedom, tolerance, and variety are hallmarks of British culture. People who want to undermine or destroy our way of life must be stopped at all costs.
The team behind the Ready4Rishi campaign has unveiled what they call “ambitious measures” to combat Islamist extremism and safeguard the United Kingdom from terrorist attacks.
Statement: “Rishi will refocus the failed Prevent program on the UK’s most major terror danger – Islamist extremism and extend the government’s definition of extremism to embrace those who defame our country.”
A major threat to UK national security is posed by Islamist extremism, but the organization responsible for preventing terror in the UK is falling short on this front. According to the statement, Islamist extremists make up around 80 percent of live counter-terrorism investigations and 68 percent of all extremists in prison, but just 22 percent of Prevent referrals and Channel cases.
Rishi proposes a major overhaul of the Prevent program, which he says “would better reflect UK’s terror danger profile” For Sunak, the Prevent program has to be better integrated with mental health services to better distinguish between people with mental health issues and those with extreme world views.
An extremist’s “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy and the rule of law; individual liberty; mutual respect; and tolerance for different faiths and beliefs” is defined in the 2011 Prevent strategy as “calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas”.
Extremism is not simply an attack on our ideals, but on our fundamental survival, says Sunak.
His goal is to broaden the definition of extremism to include “vilification of the United Kingdom,” so that individuals who harbor a deep animus toward it and thus constitute a threat to national security can be “recognized and steered away from a disastrous path.
In order to better guide the public sector in its efforts to keep the United Kingdom safe, this expanded definition has been included.
Boris Johnson’s successor in the Tory leadership contest, a British-born Indian-origin contender, likewise believes that there have been too many examples of publicly sponsored charities and organizations accused of propagating extremist ideology in the UK.
In an effort to ensure that no government-supported third-party organizations obtain taxpayer money, “Rishi will undertake an audit of publicly sponsored third-party organizations,” his campaign team declared.
The Terrorism Act Amendments proposed by Sunak are designed to criminalize the support of a proscribed organization and the encouragement of terrorism in prison cells, regardless of the number of inmates involved.
As PM, he intends to introduce a Bill of Rights to make it easier to separate terrorists from the general jail population, so they can no longer misuse our human rights framework in order to promote their “poisonous ideology”
On September 2, the deadline for Tory members to vote in the leadership election, candidates Sunak and Truss are holding hustings across the country to answer questions from party members entitled to vote. Result announcements will take place on September 5.
