Dramatic rise in number of teenagers and children referred to Government’s counter-terrorism programme over far-right links
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of teenagers and children referred to the Government’s counter-terrorism programme over their alleged far-right links, according to Home Office figures.
682 children were referred over such alleged links in 2017-18, rising from 131 in 2014-15. Moreover, the 2017-18 figure includes 24 children under the age of ten. The data was obtained via a Freedom of Information request by Sky News.
Looking at the figures across all age ranges, it is believed that this is the first time since the data began to be recorded that there was an equal balance in cases linked to the far-right and those connected to Islamist radicalism.
There is concern that youth are being drawn to the far-right by content designed to appeal to a younger demographic, a development previously reported by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.
Two youths have been sentenced over far-right terror charges in just the past few weeks, one of whom was an A-star student. Last year, another young person was jailed for life over a neo-Nazi terror plot.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to urge the Jewish community to remain vigilant and welcomes the seriousness with which the police are treating the danger posed by the far-right.
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