Speaking at Conference, , Labour’s Shadow Women and
Equalities Secretary, announced that in government Labour will
commission an independent review into the threat of far-right
extremism and how to tackle it.
The Home Office is dealing with an increasing number of cases of
suspected right-wing extremists from 968 in 2016-17 to 1,312 in
2017-18, and on Thursday, Britain’s top counter-terrorism
officer, the Met assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, said, the
fastest-growing UK terrorist threat is from far right. A quarter
of all terrorism arrests in the past year were linked to
far-right violence.
A United Nations report into eliminating racism, discriminatory
policies, xenophobia and intolerance in Britain highlighted that
sustained and pervasive discourses vilifying Islam and Muslims
exist in the British media and among politicians. The report
recommended the government take concrete steps to improve
accountability for all acts of racial discrimination and
xenophobia, ensuring that allegations of such acts are thoroughly
investigated, prosecuted and punished.
Labour’s review would look at:
· How far-right language has affected our public and media
discourse, including on social media;
· How the far-right has been promoted and evolved, and their
funding streams;
· How the far-right is now organising internationally to spread
its message.
The review will make recommendations to government and relevant
agencies on how to tackle the spread of far-right extremism.
, Labour’s Shadow Women and
Equalities Secretary, said:
"Labour want what’s best for our country, but not everyone has
that intention. We now have a Prime Minister who the far-right
regard as their leader, who garners the support of the like of
Tommy Robinson.
We will look to tackle the rise of the far right, launching this
independent review into the spread of hard right extremism. The
next Labour government will unite our country with positive
policies and protect those communities at risk from those who
seek to divide us."
