Cooper rejects calls fora new approach to extremism

Yvette Cooper has rejected calls for misogynists, conspiracy theorists, the far left and potentially violent environmental activists to be treated as extremists.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

The home secretary has said she disagrees with the findings of a rapid review she ordered into extremism in the wake of the Southport attacks, choosing instead to continue focusing the government’s anti-terror efforts on Islamist and far-right extremism.

The results of the “analytical sprint on extremism” were leaked to the right-leaning Policy Exchange think tank. A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “considering a wide range of potential next steps arising” from the report.

“The counterextremism sprint sought to comprehensively assess the challenge facing our country and lay the foundations for a new approach to tackling extremism – so we can stop people being drawn towards hateful ideologies,” the spokesperson said. “This includes tackling Islamism and extreme right-wing ideologies, which are the most prominent today.”

The leaked report suggested the UK’s approach to extremism should be based on troubling behaviours and activity rather than ideologies. Those include spreading misinformation, influencing racism, and involvement in “an online subculture called the manosphere”, according to Policy Exchange.