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The Prevent duty a briefing

What is it?
Prevent is a key component of the governments 2011 anti-terror strategy known
as Contest. It builds on the previous Prevent strategy brought in by Tony Blairs
government after the London bombings in 2005. It has been widely criticised for
casting all Muslims as a suspect community.
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 enshrines elements of Prevent in
law. It includes what is known as the Prevent duty which specifies that various
public bodies have a duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people
from being drawn into terrorism. This came into force on
1 July 2015 for much of the public sector, including schools, NHS trusts, local
authorities, childminders and probation services. Following some controversy
over plans to ban outside speakers seen as extremist, the revised guidelines
for HE and FE colleges came into effect on 21 September.
The government has advised that relevant employers must provide training to
staff in the implementation of the Prevent duty. This is being rolled out across the
public sector. Training ranges from e-learning, private or in-house trainers, to a
government DVD and script based training programme known as WRAP
(workshop to raise awareness of Prevent).
Channel
Channel is the governments programme for dealing with those identified as at
risk of radicalisation. These are individuals, often children, who have not
committed any crime (they are in the pre-criminal space as the Prevent pundits
put it), yet the police are centrally involved in monitoring these individuals and in
putting together programmes to de-radicalise them.
Between April 2012 and April 2015 some 912 children were referred to Channel. 1
Young children are being viewed through the lens of security and suspicion, with
55 under 12 year olds referred to Channel between 20072010. 2 Children as
young as three have been referred to Channel. 3
Opposition
There has been widespread opposition to the Prevent strategy, its underlying
assumptions and its implementation. The UCU and NUS have campaigned over
many years to stop lecturers and student unions being forced to spy on their
Muslim students. The TUC this year passed policy opposed to Prevent. Other
unions with policy opposed to Prevent include the UCU, NUT and NUS. Many
Muslim organisations and civil rights groups, as well as Stop the War, the
1

https://yahyabirt1.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/channel-referrals-are-shrouded-in-too-muchsecrecy-we-need-better-figures-and-more-transparency-and-accountability/
2
http://www.irr.org.uk/news/still-spooked/
3
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/threeyearold-child-from-london-placed-ingovernment-antiextremism-programme-10419346.html

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Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stand Up to Racism have also spoken out
against Prevent.
Key arguments against Prevent
The government has published distinct guidance for FE and HE and for all other
affected sectors in England and Wales as well as separate guidance for
Scotland.4 However, the arguments underpinning all of these are very similar,
with the additional question in HE and FE of policing external speakers.
1. Defending British values?
Prevent centres on tackling what the government calls non-violent extremism
i.e. no actual violent act may have been considered or admired.
The government defines extremism as vocal or active opposition to
fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual
liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also
include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our
armed forces.

This definition opens up a very ambiguous definition of extremism and

includes expressions of political views that may not involve any invocation
or support of violence.
The idea that these values are intrinsically British and not shared by
othersis racist.
It is pure hypocrisy to suggest that the British state has respected these
values, given what is known of Britains foreign policy (Iraq, Ireland,
Afghanistan, drone strikes in Syria, colonialism) and Britains domestic
policy (racism throughout the criminal justice system).

This definition opens the Prevent powers to be used against political dissent that
has nothing to do with terrorism (see below).
2. Prevent ignores the context of war and racism
The government model of radicalisation is based on a conveyor belt which
involves vulnerable individuals being groomed by radical clerics / the internet /
other associates and in which non-violent extremism leads to violent extremism
and therefore to acts of terrorism.
This deliberately ignores the context of foreign policy, racism and war. In fact
attempts to give political context are themselves cast as giving cover to
terrorists in the form of justifying grievances.
However, it is not just the revolutionary left that understand this. As John
Prescott has said: When I hear people talking about how people are radicalised,
young Muslims. I'll tell you how they are radicalised. Every time they watch the

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

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television where their families are worried, their kids are being killed and
murdered and rockets firing on all these people, that's what radicalises them. 5
Even MI5 has concluded that there is no straightforward single pathway to
terrorism.6
3. Prevent targets Muslims
Most of the training packages for Prevent stress that it is about targeting all
forms of terrorism, not just Muslim extremism. The Home Offices WRAP DVD
dwells at length on the case of a far right activist. However in practice Prevent
overwhelmingly targets Muslims.

Muslims made up 90 percent of those referred to Prevents antiradicalisation programme Channel between 2007 and 2010, despite being
less than 5 percent of the population.7
Prevent encourages racial profiling: Three schools in Barnsley, an area
with a high level of EDL activity, published risk assessments earlier this
year that stated that the schools were not prone to radicalisation and
extremism as cohort of pupils are white British majority and many pupils
take a keen interest in British military work. They also stated that Staff
continue to monitor BME (black and minority ethnic] cohort. The risk
assessments were taken from a template approved by the Prevent team at
South Yorkshire police.8
The Prevent guidance specifies that it regards groups in Syria and Iraq and
those associated with Al-Qaida as a greater threat than far right terrorism.
It describes Islamic extremists who regard Western intervention in
Muslim-majority countries as a war with Islam, creating a narrative of
them and us. While socialists dont agree that western foreign policy is
driven by a war on Muslims, it is not surprising that many do see the wars
on Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine in this wayand we must defend those
with this view as a legitimate part of the anti-war and pro-Palestine
movement.
Prevent feeds wider racism. As the UCU argues, Prevent is discriminatory
towards Muslims, and legitimises Islamophobia and xenophobia,
encouraging racist views to be publicised and normalised within society. 9

4. Safeguarding the vulnerable?

Much of the Prevent duty is being dressed up as a form of safeguarding helping
people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation. Many employers are
incorporating the Prevent duty into their existing safeguarding procedures. Much
5

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11471452/Lord-Prescott-says-Tony-Blairs-bloodycrusades-radicalised-Muslims.html
6
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/20/uksecurity.terrorism1
7
http://www.irr.org.uk/news/still-spooked/
8
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2015/03/31/prevent-policy-schools-barnsley-edl-bnpheartland/
9
Http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/8/i/Prevent_duty_guidance_Jul15.pdf

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training also asks public sector workers to look for signs of vulnerability and
radicalisation in colleaguesin other words to be suspicious of each other.
Some of the risk factors specified include: Substance and alcohol misuse Peer
pressure Influence from older people or via the Internet Bullying Crime and
anti-social behaviour Domestic violence Family tensions Race/hate crime
Lack of self esteem or identity Grievances (personal or political) Migration 10

This encompasses a huge number of people who are not in any way
connected to terrorism or extremism. So the perceived risk of
radicalisation is extremely subjective and open to abuse. This breeds an
atmosphere of suspicion and provides an almost endless list of identifiers
that can be used to label suspect individuals or groups (i.e. Muslims).
This approach potentially deters children and other vulnerable people from
seeking help, support or medical advice for fear of being labelled as at risk
of radicalisation.
Many inappropriate referrals are being made to Channel: 80 percent of
Channel referrals between 2006 and 2013 were eventually rejected by
Channel panels, showing that many referrers are finding threats where
none exist.11

5. Preventing dissent
There are many recorded instances of how Prevent is being used to crack down
on dissent:

Lancaster universitys student union president was targeted by police for

displaying
pro-Palestinian posters in her office. 12
Prevent officers were involved in shutting down a conference on
Islamophobia at Birkbeck university in December 2014. 13
Police in West Yorkshire told over 100 teachers attending Prevent training
that they should consider environmental protesters, anti-fracking
campaigners and anti-capitalists as potential extremists, citing Green MP
Caroline Lucas as an example.14
In The Muslims Are Coming, Arun Kundnani describes how a teenager was
targeted by Channel after attending a pro-Palestinian demo and warned to
keep away from his new associates who were revolutionary socialists,
not radical Muslims.

6. Crushing open debate

10

http://www.preventforschools.org/download/file/Channel%20leaflet%20Updated%2020141.pdf
https://yahyabirt1.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/channel-referrals-are-shrouded-in-too-muchsecrecy-we-need-better-figures-and-more-transparency-and-accountability/
12
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/02/anti-terror-bill-making-radical-ideas-crimecampus
13
http://www.ihrc.org.uk/activities/press-releases/11302-press-release-birkbeck-college-buckles-tofar-right-cancels-islamophobia-conference-booking
14
https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/police-tell-teachers-beware-greenactivists-counter-terrorism-talk
11

The MCB reports numerous examples of children being afraid to discuss

issues at school for fear of being labelled extremists as well as parents
trying to coach their children not to speak about their beliefs or
religious practices in public.15
Many academics and others have argued that Prevent undermines free
speech and shuts down debate, therefore making us all less safe. 16

Case studies on how Prevent and Channel are already being used in
schools
These case studies were collected by the Muslim Council of Britain and submitted
to the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in July 2015: 17

One schoolboy was accused of holding "terrorist-like" views by a police

officer due to possession of an Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
leaflet. "Free Palestine" badges were deemed "extremist".
Teachers confirmed to the MCB that they were trained to find out the
views of young children by making them do presentations on sensitive
topics a parent told the MCB how a young child was asked to do a
presentation on Syria, to find out the parents views.
A young child in south London was referred for signs of radicalisation after
he was asked to write a piece on British foreign policy and he mentioned
the history of the Caliphate.
A two year old child in east London who has a diagnosed learning
disability, sang an Islamic song and said "Allahu Akbar" spontaneously
he was subsequently referred to social services for "concerning
behaviour".
Two college students were stopped by a lecturer who noticed that they
had made way for two female students and lowered their gaze. They were
reported to the senior management team for concerning behaviour.

In another recent case, a 14 year old from north London was hauled out of class
to be questioned by a child protection officer after he discussed eco-warriers
and ecoterrorism as part of a topical debate in a French lesson. He was
questioned, without his parents knowledge, about whether he was affiliated to
Isis.18
Other problems with Channel

15

Unlike other forms of safeguarding, Channel is not transparent and doesnt

involve any mechanisms for appeal.

https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/TerrorismActs-Report-2015_web-version.pdf
16
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/prevent-will-have-a-chilling-effect-on-open-debatefree-speech-and-political-dissent-10381491.html
17
published as Annex 2 of the following report:
https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/TerrorismActs-Report-2015_web-version.pdf
18
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/22/school-questioned-muslim-pupil-about-isisafter-discussion-on-eco-activism

It is not publicly accountable information about the programme is very

scarce and shrouded in secrecy.
The police are centrally involved, even though those involved are by
definition not criminals.
Referrals of children and young people take place without consent or
discussion with their parents. 19
Accounts of contact with Channel and Prevent suggest that information
gathering extends to families, friends and other associates of individuals
who are not suspected of any criminal action. 20

What to do?
The exact forms in which Prevent can be challenged will vary, but here is some
general guidance:

Campaign around this now in some sectors, we are building on many

years of campaigning, but in some areas Prevent is only just starting to
impact. Challenging Prevent is part of a process of building opposition to
state Islamophobia and racism within the workplace. The groundswell of
opposition to racism means we have a good audience.
Use the model motion to build a collective approach to Prevent in your
workplace / sector.
Resist external trainersthey are not a condition of Prevent. Staff and
students at one college managed to stop training being delivered by the
Quilliam foundation.
Insist on the primacy of discussion and debate including in the training
sessions themselves (see motion). Argue that political views of trainers
are simply that they are contested and do not constitute expertise.
Fight for presentations on Islamophobia and racism for staff and if
appropriate, students.21
Be prepared for flashpoints and new campaigns to arise as Prevent is
implemented.
Look for alliesPrevent cannot be challenged solely within the trade union
or workplace, let alone simply the training sessions themselves. There has
already been important resistance from students, parents and the Muslim
community. Work with Stand Up to Racism and other anti-racist
campaigners and Muslim groups in your area.

To discuss any issues around this in detail, speak to your union fraction convenor,
the industrial office or the national officewho can put you in touch with
comrades for more advice.
Useful Resources
Meetings from Marxism 2015:
19

https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/TerrorismActs-Report-2015_web-version.pdf)
20
http://www.irr.org.uk/news/still-spooked/
21
Muslim Engagement and Development has useful resources on Islamophobia at mend.org.uk

Tacking Islamophobia Today dealt in some detail with Prevent, with good
examples in the discussion from people who have already encountered
Prevent training.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-2vP-FmVYA&list=PLCTKWsE4qKrjVtWHqLWW3vBe5sUqYzBV&index=2
Islamophobia: the othering of Britains Muslims gave some useful context
to the debate, as well as some discussion of the concept of radicalisation.
http://swpradiocast.bandcamp.com/track/islamophobia-the-othering-ofbritain-s-muslims-marxism-2015

Socialist Worker and Socialist Review articles:

British values and the governments model of radicalisation:

socialistworker.co.uk/art/40782/Tories+are+treating+Muslims+like+sheep
Prevent and anti-terror legislation:
http://socialistworker.co.uk/art/39913/New+antiterror+bill+makes+Muslims+the+enemy+within
Resisting islamophobia:
socialistworker.co.uk/art/41009/Resist+David+Camerons+Islamophobic+i
ndustry+of+fear
Socialist Review article on the next round of anti-terror legislation:
socialistreview.org.uk/405/extremism-bill-threat-all-us

Other resources

UCUs very helpful guide to branches on Prevent. Useful for those in other
unions too:
www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/8/i/Prevent_duty_guidance_Jul15.pdf
Excellent short report on the implementation of Channel from the Institute
of Race Relations
www.irr.org.uk/news/still-spooked/
The Islamic Human Rights Commission is developing resources on Prevent.
Reports from their recent conference on Prevent are available at
www.ihrc.org.uk/news/event-reports/11499-event-report-preventingviolent-extremism-conferenceA Decade Lost: Rethinking Radicalisation and Extremism produced by the
Claystone think
tank looks in depth at the flawed thinking behind the governments view
of radicalisation.
www.claystone.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Claystone-rethinkingradicalisation.pdf
The Muslims Are Coming: Islamophobia, Extremism and the Domestic War
on Terror by Arun Kundnani is highly recommended. It is available from
Bookmarks, who have a wide range of books on Islamophobia and racism:
www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk

Resolution on Prevent and training

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This model statement / resolution was originally passed at Newham Sixth Form
College and then at UCU NEC. The model statement has been circulated by UCU to
all branches and is on their website. This should be adapted appropriately for NHS,
Local Government etc. Comrades should pass the statement for the union to take up
with management. We have added two points at the end on campaigning.

As a college and union we are proud of our commitment and record to

challenging any expression of prejudice or discrimination directed against any
group or individual (whether in form of racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism;
attitudes to sexuality, gender or disability).

Where a safeguarding concern is raised regarding a [student/client] or other

persons at potential risk of harm, there are existing, established procedures
of prompt referral which every member of staff should be aware of and should
be able to act on accordingly.

In addition:
It is essential that in order to explore views and opinions and where
necessary, challenge them, we actively promote a climate of free discussion
and debate. There should be no fear that this will incur suspicion, or limit on
free expression within the boundaries of our equality and diversity policy and
disciplinary codes on harassment or abuse.

It is essential that legitimate political opinions expressed by staff or students

are not in any way regarded as extreme or legitimising extremism. In the
context of Prevent, it is perfectly legitimate for example, to criticise
government foreign policy; to criticise the wars in the Middle East and
Afghanistan; to express support for Palestinian rights or to express either
support for or opposition to Israel. Neither is it extreme or illegitimate to hold
that the rise of terrorism or hostility to western governments is a direct result
of these policies.

One may agree or disagree with such views, however they form part of
legitimate discussion and debate; they are widespread in the political and
academic sphere and in society at large. They are neither extreme, nor
should they be presented as excusing or providing cover for extremism or
acts of violence or terror.

Finally, the insistence on freedom of expression and free debate, within the
boundaries of established policies and codes of behaviour, is paramount. Therefore
sufficient time for discussion, debate and respectful exchange of views is essential in
any forum in which Prevent is discussed or presented. Everyone is entitled to their
own political view or opinion but no-one should privilege one view over that of
others, or present one political explanation as expert or not subject to challenge.
All presenters in Prevent forums, whether internal or external, should be made
aware of these principles and be expected to abide by them.
XXX Union branch/cttee/ resolves:
to present the above to Senior Leadership and at our negotiating forum, as an
agreed set of principles by which any discussion or training on Prevent be
conducted.

to actively campaign against Prevent on the grounds that it has no role in

safeguarding [students/clients] but can only reinforce divisions and prejudice.
[Where appropriate We also fully support national union policy etc]

This [union/branch] will campaign locally to stop the introduction of the

forthcoming Counter Extremism Bill, together with Stand Up to Racism, antiracist and civil rights campaigns and Muslim community and faith
organisations.