Record level of referrals to Prevent anti-terrorism scheme

Referrals to the government's counter-terrorism Prevent programme rose by 27% in the year 2024/25, the highest ever recorded.

The latest data released by the Home Office on Thursday revealed an increase in referrals to 8,778, from the previous year's 6,922, as well as a breakdown of the demographics and reasons people were referred to the programme.

Right-wing extremism represented the largest amount of cases taken further after a referral (42%), whilst Islamist extremism accounted for 15% of these.

The largest amount of overall referrals was linked to "no-ideology", although this represented one of the lowest rates of cases taken further at just 7%.

Of the total referrals to Prevent in the last year, 21% were for right-wing extremism, up from 19% the previous year, whilst referrals for Islamist extremism fell to 10%, down from 13%.

Where ethnicity and sex were recorded, those referred to the scheme were overwhelmingly white, and male, a statistic which has not changed since data began being recorded.

Individuals aged 11 to 15 accounted for the largest proportion of referrals to the scheme (3,192; 36%).

Data was also broken down to the period before and after the attack in Southport by Axel Rudakubana, who was himself referred to the Prevent scheme, without his case being taken further.

These figures showed in the period following the attack in Southport, Prevent saw a 34% increase in referrals compared to the previous year.

These also followed through into an increase of cases being taken further, suggesting more at-risk individuals were correctly flagged on account of the increased vigilance among the public following the Southport attack.

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The government has committed to reforming Prevent, with an increase in funding, as well as a broadening of assessment criteria.

For the first time, the category of "fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks (where no other ideology)" was used, accounting for 5% of referrals.

Responding to Thursday's figures, Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: “We must direct people away from the dangerous path of radicalisation – whether it be Islamist ideology, Extreme Right-Wing or those seeking mass violence.

“Prevent has diverted 6,000 people away from violent ideologies, stopping terrorists, keeping our streets and country safe.”

The government’s Prevent scheme is part of its counter-terrorism strategy, aimed at stopping people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

It requires public bodies, such as schools, the NHS, and local authorities, to refer individuals identified as being at risk of radicalisation to the programme.

These individuals are then assessed, with their cases either being progressed to a multi-agency "channel," whereby they can receive support from various bodies to steer them away from radicalisation before their behaviour strays into terrorism.

Cases that are not taken further by the Prevent scheme can still be referred to external agencies for additional support.

The scheme has faced criticism, both in its handling of high-profile cases that were referred to Prevent but still went on to commit acts of terror or mass violence, and its focus on particular types of extremism.

In 2023, the government-commissioned independent Shawcross review found Prevent was "not doing enough to counter non-violent Islamist extremism".

It described a "double standard" in Prevent's approach to Islamist extremism and right-wing extremism, with a narrower criteria being used to assess the former, resulting in fewer referrals and cases being taken forward.

This bias appears to still be present in the figures released on Thursday, and ITV News understands work is being done to increase the awareness among those with a duty to refer to Prevent of a wider range of signifiers of Islamist extremism.

Responding to this, the Conservatives wrote: "Last year, Islamists accounted for 80% of the police’s counter-terror caseload, 75 per cent of MI5’s and 63 per cent of terrorists in custody.

"These figures point to a growing gap between the nature of the threat and the focus of the system designed to prevent it."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described the current situation as a "national security failure."

He said: “Prevent’s role is vital to national security, but it must be fit for purpose. The evidence shows that Islamist extremism remains the dominant threat, yet the system is increasingly losing focus on it."

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