0h 1min, nov 6, 2025 y - Record Referrals to Prevent

Description:

A record number of referrals were made to the government's anti-terror programme Prevent in the year to March 2025, according to new data.

A total of 8,778 referrals were made - up 27% from 6,922 the previous year.

The majority of referrals where the concern was specified were made for individuals who had "no identified ideology" at 56%.

An inquiry into the killing of three children in Southport heard that there had been a sharp rise in Prevent referrals where there were "concerns about violent fixation" since the attack in July 2024.

Axel Rudakubana, who carried out the killings, had been referred to Prevent three times - but the inquiry heard he had not met the threshold for further intervention because there was no evidence that he had a fixed ideology.

The head of Prevent, Michael Stewart, resigned in March after an urgent review found it had closed Rudakabana's case "prematurely".

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