Combatting New Forms of Extremism

Home Affairs Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 14 May 2025 Parliament page
This inquiry will examine the drivers of extremism in the UK, with a focus on emerging trends of young people being drawn into extremism, violence and crime through online radicalisation. It will assess whether the Government’s approach is keeping pace with the evolving threat and evaluate the effectiveness of measures … Read more
2 Recommendations
10 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
1 Letter
4 Events
Activity timeline 10 events
1 Apr
2026
Report published
4 Feb
2026
Correspondence
20 Jan
2026
Oral evidence
20 Jan
2026
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
25 Nov
2025
Oral evidence
25 Nov
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
28 Oct
2025
Oral evidence
28 Oct
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
15 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
15 Jul
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
20 Jan 2026
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Dame Sara Khan DBE · Counter Extremism Commissioner 2018-2021 Dan Jarvis MBE MP · Home Office Jonathan Emmett · Home Office
25 Nov 2025
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Councillor Sara Conway · Joint Chair of the Local Government Association’s Special Interest Group on Countering Extremism Dr Jane Horton · University of Liverpool Kenny Bowie · Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime Leo Ratledge · Child Rights International Network (CRIN) Professor John Denham · University of Southampton and member of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law's Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice
28 Oct 2025
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Adam Hadley CBE · Tech Against Terrorism Imran Ahmed · Centre for Countering Digital Hate Laurence Taylor · Metropolitan Police Milo Comerford · Institute for Strategic Dialogue Paul Giannasi OBE · National Police Chiefs' Council
15 Jul 2025
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Dr Daniel Allington · King's College London Dr Joe Whittaker · Swansea University Lord Anderson KC, Interim Independent Prevent Commissioner Professor Laura G. E. Smith · Department of Psychology, University of Bath Robin Simcox · Commission for Countering Extremism
Title HC No. Published Items Response
7th Report – Combatting new forms of extremism HC 903 1 Apr 2026 12 Pending
Recommendations & Conclusions
12 results
1 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
Extremism is evolving rapidly and becoming more complex.
Extremism is evolving rapidly and becoming more complex. Long-standing terrorist threats remain but new forms of extremism are emerging and give rise to growing concern. The impact of geo-political events is likely to intensify in light of continuing conflict in … Read more
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2 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
Good policy making relies upon data and evidence.
Good policy making relies upon data and evidence. At the moment the UK lacks the evidence base and up-to-date research needed to keep pace with these developments. The impediments to supporting rigorous, independent empirical research have limited our understanding of … Read more
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3 Recommendation
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
We recommend that the Home Office establishes a coherent, long-term research and evidence programme on...
We recommend that the Home Office establishes a coherent, long-term research and evidence programme on emerging forms of extremism. It should ensure that sufficient support and resources are available to enable independent, empirical research to be commissioned, whether by the … Read more
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4 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
Harmful extremist content is circulating widely online, driven by engagement and profit-maximising algorithms, influencer-led dissemination,...
Harmful extremist content is circulating widely online, driven by engagement and profit-maximising algorithms, influencer-led dissemination, and decentralised extremist ecosystems. These systems promote content designed to provoke outrage and fear, often purely for commercial reasons, and the speed and scale of … Read more
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5 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
The Online Safety Act contains gaps that limit government’s ability to address new forms of...
The Online Safety Act contains gaps that limit government’s ability to address new forms of extremism, particularly when harmful content falls below criminal thresholds. We are concerned that smaller, high-risk platforms are not receiving sufficient regulatory scrutiny. Alongside more robust … Read more
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6 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
The Home Office should engage more closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology...
The Home Office should engage more closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ofcom to ensure effective implementation of measures around online safety for children and to ensure that extremist content is among the types of online … Read more
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7 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
We welcome the inclusion of enhanced digital and media literacy in the new curriculum.
We welcome the inclusion of enhanced digital and media literacy in the new curriculum. It should be embedded consistently across education settings and equip children with the skills to identify, analyse and scrutinise online 53 content, including the operation of … Read more
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8 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
The escalation in Prevent referrals involving no clear ideology and no clear signs of radicalisation...
The escalation in Prevent referrals involving no clear ideology and no clear signs of radicalisation to terrorism represents a significant challenge to a system designed to address the ideological roots of terrorism. Prevent and Channel are becoming saturated with such … Read more
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9 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
Prevent is poorly adapted to deal with the digital world.
Prevent is poorly adapted to deal with the digital world. We have outlined how online spaces are now central to the radicalisation process, particularly for young people, yet Prevent lacks the specialist knowledge or framework for identifying and assessing credible … Read more
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10 Recommendation
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
We recommend that the Home Office makes a clear, specific statement to clarify the role...
We recommend that the Home Office makes a clear, specific statement to clarify the role of Prevent in addressing non-ideological cases, and makes any necessary updates to relevant Prevent guidance and training to reflect that position. The government should also … Read more
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11 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
We have not seen evidence that the Home Office prioritises counter- extremism efforts beyond those...
We have not seen evidence that the Home Office prioritises counter- extremism efforts beyond those which fall within the existing counter- terrorism security infrastructure. (Conclusion, Paragraph 100)
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12 Conclusion
7th Report – Combatting new forms …
The Home Office should assign greater priority to countering extremism and work alongside the Ministry...
The Home Office should assign greater priority to countering extremism and work alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, other relevant departments, and local authorities to implement the social cohesion strategy. It is vital that the Home Office … Read more
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Correspondence 1 letter
4 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Security Minister following his appearance on 20 Januaury relating to the inquiry on Combatting new forms of extremism 02.02.2026
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