Government documents have classified concern about mass migration as a “terrorist ideology” requiring intervention through the anti-radicalisation Prevent programme.
An online training course on the Government’s website identifies “cultural nationalism” as a belief that could trigger referral to the deradicalisation scheme.
The course defines this as encompassing the conviction that “Western culture is under threat from mass migration and a lack of integration by certain ethnic and cultural groups”.
The classification appears in Prevent’s official “refresher awareness” course hosted on gov.uk, which states that “cultural nationalism” represents one of the most common “sub-categories of extreme Right-wing terrorist ideologies”, alongside white supremacism and white/ethno-nationalism.
Government documents have classified concern about mass migration as a ‘terrorist ideology’ requiring intervention through the anti-radicalisation Prevent programme
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A Home Office spokesman said: “Prevent is not about restricting debate or free speech, but about protecting those susceptible to radicalisation.”
Lord Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warning that the definition could capture mainstream politicians.
He suggested Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, could fall within scope for previously warning that “excessive, uncontrolled migration threatens to cannibalise the compassion of the British public.”
Even Sir Keir Starmer might be included, Lord Young claimed, citing the Prime Minister’s recent statement that without fair immigration rules, “we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
The classification appears in Prevent’s official ‘refresher awareness’ course hosted on gov.uk
gov.uk
Others potentially at risk include academic-turned-GB News broadcaster Matthew Goodwin and bestselling author Douglas Murray, campaigners said.
Lord Young warned that anyone referred to Prevent could face “serious, long-lasting consequences” for their education, employment and public reputation, with personal details retained on databases for at least six years.
The Prevent programme failed to stop Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, despite him being referred to it on three separate occasions.
Sir William Shawcross’s report two years ago delivered damning criticism of Prevent, revealing that it had wrongly funnelled money to extremist organisations and repeatedly failed to identify people who went on to carry out terrorist attacks.
Sir Keir Starmer speaking during a press conference on the Immigration White PaperPA
Professor Ian Acheson, a former government adviser on extremism, said: “We are now beginning to see the consequences of a referral mechanism built on training like this which skews away from suspicion by conduct to the mere possession of beliefs that are perfectly legitimate but regarded by Prevent policy wonks as ‘problematic.'”
A former government adviser called the “cultural nationalism” definition “pretty shoddy”.
They added: “It undermines the seriousness of what counter-extremism is all about.”
