Recommendation SP33: CT Policing online activity analysis capability
From The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1, published 13 April 2026.
Recommendation
Counter Terrorism Policing’s capability to access and analyse data relating to a referred person’s online activity should be reviewed in the context of Prevent referrals, to determine whether staff have the technical tools required to undertake this assessment. The Home Office and Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters should ensure this review is conducted.
In brief (written by this site)
HM Government stated in July 2026 that the Home Office and Counter Terrorism Policing were working together to deliver the recommendation, noting that the Prevent Assessment Framework introduced in 2025 requires recording online activity (Home Office response, Jul 2026). It added in July 2026 that evaluation of the framework remained ongoing and further updates on an expected completion date would be provided to the Inquiry (Home Office response, Jul 2026). The record holds no update since the government's response of July 2026 (Home Office response, Jul 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The Home Office and CTP are working together to deliver this recommendation. Progress to date:
- The Prevent National Referral Form was updated in 2024 to include a request to provide the individual's social media handle.
- The Prevent Assessment Framework, rolled out in January 2025, requires consideration and recording of online activity throughout.
- Evaluation of the Prevent Assessment Framework is ongoing and any improvements to the tool and accompanying guidance will be considered as part of that process.
- CTP will provide the Inquiry with further updates on the expected date for completing this work.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The government's response to Phase 1 (CP 1623, 2 July 2026) agreed with all 67 recommendations in one sentence, and names only 39 of them individually. Where a recommendation is not named, the response shown is the passage the response gives for the group it belongs to (the recommendations for organisations outside central government, or the recommendations to policing bodies), which is not a response to that recommendation alone; the response does not list the members of any group. The 10 recommendations for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider show no response: the response introduces them (paragraph 20) but answers none of them. The government accepts the recommendations that are for central government to deliver. Where a recommendation is for an organisation outside central government, the government's agreement is not that organisation's acceptance.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Home Office has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 July 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response