Displaying items by tag: antiextremism

Plans for a counter-extremism commission were announced in the Queen’s Speech, but campaigners urged the Government to pause its plans and consult widely. The speech did not mention any plans for an equality oath, or Ofsted entering Sunday schools and youth clubs, but the Government continues to advocate both these strands of its counter-extremism strategy. Defend Free Speech, which includes the Christian Institute, the National Secular Society, and Index on Censorship, cautioned that the new commission will simply be a scapegoat for ‘when things go wrong’. Its statement said, ‘The Government has yet again said it will bring forward unnecessary and intrusive legislation to counter so-called non-violent extremism. Not only will civil liberties be damaged, but we will all be less safe. For years, government lawyers have tried to come up with a watertight legal definition of who is and is not an extremist. The chances of finding one that does not criminalise those with traditional or challenging views such as people of faith, outspoken academics or anti-fracking campaigners seems highly remote.’