Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised the controversial Prevent programme and said there was an emerging security threat from individuals who perpetrate extreme violence without traditional ideological motivations.
Starmer highlighted concerns about “loners, misfits and young men in their bedrooms” who become fixated on violence “seemingly for its own sake,” which marks a shift in the understanding of terror threats facing the nation.
The announcement came a day after Axel Rudakubana’s guilty plea in the Southport murders of three young girls last summer.
The case highlighted serious failures in the Prevent program, as Rudakubana had been referred to the agency three times without intervention. “This failure, frankly, leaps off the page,” Starmer said.
The programme has faced criticism for disproportionately targeting Muslim communities while potentially missing other forms of extremism, which now poses more of a threat, according to recent data.
Starmer also announced the appointment of David Anderson as independent Prevent commissioner. Anderson, a respected barrister, has previously acknowledged problems with Prevent, including the concerns from the Muslim community about the programme.
The appointment is a departure from the previous Conservative government’s approach of picking individuals who wanted Prevent to focus more on Muslims.
Starmer’s appointment appears to sideline the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE), set up by the Tories and currently headed by Robin Simcox, whose appointment drew criticism due to his associations with think tanks accused of Islamophobia.
The move also seems to distance the government from the Prevent review conducted by the controversial William Shawcross under the previous administration. That review, which Simcox endorsed, advocated for increased focus on ‘Islamist extremism’ but was widely criticised and boycotted by many stakeholders.
‘Britain now faces a new threat’
The aftermath of the murders sparked riots in Southport, triggered by false social media claims by the far right that the killer was a Muslim migrant.
The violence escalated into nationwide disturbances, including attacks on mosques and asylum-seeker accommodations, leading to over 1,500 arrests.
Addressing questions about the nature of the attack, Starmer outlined an emerging security threat: “The blunt truth here is that this case is a sign. Britain now faces a new threat. Terrorism has changed.
“In the past, the predominant threat was highly organised groups with clear political intent. Groups like Al-Qaeda.
“That threat of course remains. But now, alongside that we also see acts of extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom, accessing all manner of material online, desperate for notoriety.
“And so, if the law needs to change to recognise this new and dangerous threat, then we will change it – and quickly. “
While he addressed online radicalisation broadly, he did not specifically mention the far-right rhetoric on social media, which critics say often provides the mood music that drives young men toward these kinds of violence.
His comments came against changing patterns in Prevent referrals, where ‘vulnerable but no ideology’ has been the predominant category for five years. Since 2022, referrals related to ‘extreme right-wing views’ and ‘conflicted’ (mixed ideologies) have surpassed those linked to ‘Islamist extremism.’
“We will also review our entire counter-extremist system to make sure we have what we need to defeat it,” Starmer stated, explaining Anderson’s appointment would ‘hold this system to account.’
“Now, that work is already underway…To shine a light into its darkest corners, so the British people can have confidence that action will follow words, “ he added.
