more than 300 people referred to a deradicalisation scheme between june and august were under 18, figures show. of the 796 individuals reported to the government’s channel programme for possible intervention, 312 were under 18, statistics obtained by the press association show. part of the prevent counter-terrorism programme, channel was developed to provide support to people at risk of being drawn into violent extremism. the programme came under the spotlight last week when it emerged that a 14-year-old boy, described as britain’s youngest terrorist, was referred to the voluntary initiative. the teenager was given a life sentence for plotting a thwarted terror attack in australia. the referral figures, provided by the national police chiefs’ council following a freedom of information request have been published after new measures were introduced placing a legal requirement on schools and other public bodies to prevent people being drawn into terrorism – defined as not just violent extremism, but also non-violent extremism that can “create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and popularise views which terrorists exploit”. when the law came into force in july, there were 349 referrals – a rate of more than 10 every day. this was a slight increase on the previous month, when there were 327, while the number fell to 120 in august when schools broke up for the summer. there were more referrals between june and august than for the whole of 2012/13 – the first year the scheme was rolled out across england and wales. the number is more than double the level of referrals recorded in the first three months of 2014/15. specific details of channel projects – piloted in 2007 – are not made public, but they are aimed at all forms of terrorism, including far-right extremism. government guidance states the programme is “about ensuring that vulnerable children and adults of any faith, ethnicity or background receive support before their vulnerabilities are exploited by those that would want them to embrace terrorism”. not all of those referred are subsequently judged as being vulnerable to radicalisation. estimates suggest that one in five cases were assessed as needing support from channel programmes, with the rest passed to other more appropriate services. rashad ali, a senior fellow at the institute for strategic dialogue thinktank, said the rise in referrals was to be expected, because of the new law, increased outreach from authorities and schools, and greater awareness of the issues involved. “channel should be seen as an early intervention programme similar to those targeting truancy and drugs, rather than a programme for targeting extremists, which is something for the police and intelligence agencies,” he said. “it’s been politicised by all sides of the political spectrum. the right uses it stir up mass hysteria over the threat of extremists while the left sees it as a government attempt to target whole communities.” the government is due to publish its counter-extremism bill later this year, which is aimed at “suppressing extremist activity”. it will include proposals for banning orders to outlaw extremist organisations, extremist disruption orders to restrict the activities of individuals, and closure orders to shut down premises used by extremists. but david anderson qc, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, has warned that the bill risks provoking a backlash in britain’s muslim communities and playing into the hands of terrorist recruiters. the bill also risks legitimising state scrutiny of – and citizens informing on – the political activities of large numbers of law-abiding people, he said. several recent cases have highlighted the difficulty in implementing anti-extremism programmes. in a case that emerged last month, a 14-year-old muslim schoolboy was questioned about isis after a classroom discussion about environmental activism. his parents are taking legal action after the boy said he was left “scared and nervous” by his experience with school officials in north london, and was left reluctant to join in class discussions for fear of being suspected of extremism.
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