Former Advisor Says Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy Needs to Focus More on Hamas Support Network

Undated photo of protesters in Parliament Square during a pro-Palestine march in London. (James Manning/PA)

The UK’s former counter-extremism strategy reviewer has said the government should focus more on Hamas’s UK support network, warning the public are more at risk because of the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

Sir William Shawcross made the remarks in response to the government marking a year since the publication of the Independent Review of Prevent.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said on Tuesday, “we’ve brought Prevent back to its core mission - tackling the ideological causes of terrorism.”

But Sir William, who conducted the independent review, told the BBC on Wednesday that “not enough” of his recommendations had been enacted, claiming ministers had “ignored” some of his key proposals and “as a result the public is at risk.”

The former counter-extremism advisor said authorities “should pay much more attention to the Hamas support network,” saying he felt more concerned about Islamist extremism in the UK as a result of Hamas’s attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“There are unfortunately quite a lot of Hamas sympathisers and some operatives in this country,” Sir William told the BBC, adding, “Prevent and the police should have been working much harder against those Hamas people in this country.”

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“The public are more at risk because of the events of 7 October,” he warned, noting that subsequently, “many, many people in this country are much more frightened than they have ever been before.”

Islamist Ideology Presents ‘Greatest Threat’ to UK

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC that the government had made “significant progress to deliver a strengthened Prevent.”

They said that the independent review “was critical to ensuring Prevent is fit for purpose, which is why we accepted his recommendations in full.”

One year on, the department said it had delivered on 30 of the 34 recommendations Sir William made “and we are making rapid progress on delivering the remaining four.”

“The government agrees that extreme Islamist ideology presents the greatest threat to the UK, and has moved swiftly to update Prevent duty guidance and training to make that clear,” the spokesperson added.

Marking one year since the release of the report, Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement, “Delivering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Prevent has been critical to ensuring a Prevent programme that is fit for purpose and agile enough to meet the threats we face today.”

“The conflict in Israel and Gaza has brought the importance of Prevent into sharp focus. Prevent is a key part of our plan to tackle radicalisation and I am confident that it is more capable than ever at meeting that challenge,” Mr. Cleverly added.

Prevent’s ‘Double Standard’

Prevent was created in 2003 and is part of the government’s counter-terrorism programme. It works with public bodies, such as the police and schools, to stop individuals from being radicalised and becoming terrorists.

In 2019, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel tasked Sir William, the former Charity Commission chairman, with conducting a review on Prevent.

Published in February 2023, the Independent Review of Prevent found the strategy was “not doing enough to counter non-violent Islamist extremism” and “has a double standard when dealing with the extreme right-wing and Islamism.”

The Shawcross report noted that “Prevent takes an expansive approach to the extreme right-wing, capturing a variety of influences that, at times, has been so broad it has included mildly controversial or provocative forms of mainstream, right-wing leaning commentary that have no meaningful connection to terrorism or radicalisation.”

“However, with Islamism, Prevent tends to take a much narrower approach centred around proscribed organisations, ignoring the contribution of non-violent Islamist narratives and networks to terrorism,” the report added.

Sir William Shawcross with his Commander of the Royal Victorian Order medal at Buckingham Palace in London, on March 10, 2011. (Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Government Designates Hizb ut-Tahrir as Terrorist Organisation

Last month, the Home Office proscribed the international Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, meaning it is a criminal offence to belong to or invite support for the terrorist organisation.

Mr. Cleverly called Hizb ut-Tahrir “an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling October 7 attacks.”

“Proscribing this terrorist group will ensure that anyone who belongs to and invites supports for them will face consequences. It will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ability to operate as it currently does,” the home secretary said.

The group had described Hamas as “heroes” on their central website, which the government said “constitutes promoting and encouraging terrorism.”

Hamas is already designated a terrorist group in the UK.

Hizb ut-Tahrir came to prominence in recent months, after calling for jihad in London during a pro-Palestine protest on Oct. 21, 2023.