London is a “no-go zone for Jews every weekend” during pro-Palestinian protests, the UK’s counter extremism tsar has warned.
Robin Simcox said a “permissive environment for radicalisation” is developing as he welcomed the government’s expected move to create a new definition of extremism.
But he also urged the government to be “faster, bolder and willing to accept higher legal risk” if it means introducing policies that keep the public safe.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the commissioner for countering extremism said that not since the 11 September attacks “have extremist networks been as emboldened”.
He said: “We will not have become an authoritarian state if London is no longer permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend.”
His comments come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak railed against “extremist forces trying to tear us apart”.
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Michael Gove is expected to set out a new definition of extremism in the coming days, which could include banning government officials from engaging with or funding groups or individuals deemed extremist.
But it has led to concerns from some on the right that it could inadvertently penalise groups opposed to gay marriage, abortion or new transgender rights.
Mr Simcox said: “While debates over a definition can feel like academic navel-gazing when actual extremist acts are so common, the work does have a clear purpose: it will be used to guide future decisions over who government does, and does not, engage with and fund.”
He said the government is “right to act”, arguing evidence the state “works with or funds extremists” has appeared in independent reviews going back for a decade.
“This needs fixing, new definition of extremism or not,” he said.
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He suggested the government and its agencies already have powers to combat extremism but had failed to tackle groups that fall below the threshold of being terrorists.
He said Whitehall “has more power to tackle extremism than it sometimes thinks”.
“After all, the Iranian government does not have an inalienable right to run schools and mosques in our capital city,” he said.
“It is not an unalterable democratic principle that Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood must be allowed to run a multitude of charities,” he said.
“We have not betrayed democracy if extremists are no longer able to operate television channels.”
