News & events
Prevent: the ‘safety net’ that’s full of holes
This week, Parliament debated the government’s new Counter-Terrorism Bill. In that debate, some of us opposed the continuation of the divisive Prevent programme. This position should be taken up not only by the left as a whole but by the labour movement, by all those fighting for a less divided society.
Morning Star, 28th July 2020
It should also be adopted by all of us who want to combat the scourge of terrorism, which increasingly has a far-right component as well as terrorists whose outlook is based on some distorted view of the ravages in the Middle East.
The safety and security of us all in the fight against terrorism cannot be upheld by knee-jerk reactions, simplistic formulations or counter-productive programmes. Prevent is counter-productive. It fails to intercept the terrorists and snares the innocent.