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0 Michael Gove, UK communities secretary, has published a new definition of “extremism”, which he claims will tackle a threat from Islamist and right-wing extremists that has worsened since the Hamas attacks on October 7.
In a statement Gove insisted the definition will set a “high bar that only captures the most concerning of activities” and will not affect free speech or silence those with “private and peaceful beliefs”.
The guidelines, released on Thursday, will not affect criminal law but are intended to stop the government funding or engaging with groups that spread extreme ideologies or hate in their communities.
They define extremism as “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others”.
The definition covers those who seek to “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights” or intentionally create a “permissive environment” for others to achieve those aims.
But the guidelines have been launched into a political firestorm, with the Conservatives criticised for taking £10mn from a donor with allegedly extreme views.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that reported remarks by Tory megadonor Frank Hester were “racist and wrong” but that the businessman’s “remorse should be accepted”.
Hester reportedly made comments in 2019 that seeing Black MP Diane Abbott made him “just want to hate all Black women”, and that she “should be shot”. The Conservatives said they would not hand back his donations.
“How low would he have to sink, what racist, woman-hating threat of violence would he have to make before the prime minister plucked up the courage to hand back the £10mn that he’s taken from him?” Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader, said at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
Stephen Flynn, Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party, said that Hester’s comments were “downright bloody dangerous” and that Sunak should be addressing extremism in his own party.
Meanwhile, the two most senior clerics in the Church of England expressed serious concerns over the new definition. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, warned the government’s response to a rise in extremism “risks vilifying the wrong people” and creating “more division”.
Three former Tory home secretaries, Sajid Javid, Priti Patel and Amber Rudd, also warned this week against the dangers of politicising the debate over extremism.
Against that backdrop, Gove stressed that the new definition was a measured response to the risk posed to democracy by the far-right and Islamist extremists, which has become increasingly clear since October 7.
“In order to protect our democratic values, it is important both to reinforce what we have in common and to be clear and precise when identifying the dangers posed by extremism,” he said.
The existing definition of extremism, dating back to 2011, covered “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”.
Gove’s officials have not yet identified a list of bodies that would be covered by the new guidelines, as lawyers pore over evidence to ensure that any such designation is legally watertight.
A list of organisations covered is expected to be published in the “coming weeks”, according to government insiders, and it will include those that knowingly provide a platform to extremists.
However, it is thought that this will not be applied to social media platforms, according to those briefed on the plans.
Brendan Cox, former husband of murdered MP Jo Cox and co-founder of Survivors against Terror, said his concerns were not so much about the wording itself, but the process that has brought it about.
In order to be effective it was vital for counterterrorism or counter-extremism strategies to have consensus backing across political party and faith backgrounds and be consistent over the long term.
“The way Gove has been handling this personally and the Conservative party in general has been for short-term political dividends,” he said.
Government briefings in the run-up to Gove’s launch have raised concern among Muslims that the government’s intention is to single out their community.
Imam Qari Asim, senior Imam at Makkah Masjid, Leeds, and an estranged former adviser to Gove on anti-Muslim hatred, said there was a risk that young people who are not in fact extreme in their views or actions will be labelled and made vulnerable to the “real extremists in society”.
“If for sake of argument a Muslim had used the same language as the key Tory donor had used about Diane Abbott that person would have been called extremist. His house might have been raided,” he said.
Zara Mohammed, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, a national umbrella group for more than 500 mosques and charitable organisations, said the definition was “dangerously vague”.
