A record number of people have been referred to a counter-radicalisation programme over suspected far-right extremism , bringing the figure to the same level as Islamists for the first time.
A total of 1,389 people were referred to Prevent over right-wing concerns in 2018-19, up 6 per cent in a year.
The number of suspected Islamists was slightly higher, at 1,404, after falling by more than half in the previous 12 months.
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Concerns over far-right radicalisation have been rocketing in the past four years, rising from 759 cases to almost double in the year to March.
Prevent cases over Islamist extremism , by contrast, have fallen rapidly from almost 5,000 referrals in 2015-16.
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Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
2/50 21 June 2020
Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton v Liverpool - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
3/50 20 June 2020
Arsenal's midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
4/50 19 June 2020
Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
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5/50 18 June 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle's appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP/Getty
6/50 17 June 2020
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7/50 16 June 2020
Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing's biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
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8/50 15 June 2020
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Getty
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10/50 13 June 2020
Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
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11/50 12 June 2020
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12/50 11 June 2020
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13/50 10 June 2020
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14/50 9 June 2020
Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford
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15/50 8 June 2020
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16/50 7 June 2020
The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol
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17/50 6 June 2020
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18/50 5 June 2020
Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
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19/50 4 June 2020
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20/50 3 June 2020
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22/50 1 June 2020
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23/50 31 May 2020
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24/50 30 May 2020
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25/50 29 May 2020
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26/50 28 May 2020
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27/50 27 May 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
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28/50 26 May 2020
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29/50 25 May 2020
Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, makes a statement inside 10 Downing Street, London, over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown restrictions
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30/50 24 May 2020
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31/50 23 May 2020
People take a walk near Durdle Door as cows graze in Lulworth
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32/50 22 May 2020
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33/50 21 May 2020
Cafe owner Francini Osorio serves customers in a trial phase during the coronavirus lockdown. Osorio has installed an air purifier and 35 clear shower curtains, which will divide customers and tables, in the Francini Cafe De Colombia, Worcester, ready for the re-opening of his business as lockdown restrictions are eased
PA
34/50 20 May 2020
People at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased. The Met Office has predicted the hottest day of the year
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35/50 19 May 2020
A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London
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36/50 18 May 2020
A fan celebrates outside Celtic Park after Celtic were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership. Hearts were also relegated after a decision was made to conclude the season with immediate effect
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37/50 17 May 2020
People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
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38/50 16 May 2020
Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
39/50 15 May 2020
Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
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40/50 14 May 2020
Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork "Theatre of Dott's" by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians' Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
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41/50 13 May 2020
Team GB's karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
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42/50 12 May 2020
Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
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43/50 11 May 2020
Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
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44/50 10 May 2020
A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
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45/50 9 May 2020
Police patrol the beach in Brighton
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46/50 8 May 2020
The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
47/50 7 May 2020
Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
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48/50 6 May 2020
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
49/50 5 May 2020
The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
50/50 4 May 2020
Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute's silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
1/50
Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured
PA
2/50 21 June 2020
Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton v Liverpool - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Action Images via Reuters
3/50 20 June 2020
Arsenal's midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England
AFP via Getty
4/50 19 June 2020
Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester
PA
5/50 18 June 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle's appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II
AFP/Getty
6/50 17 June 2020
Players kneel, as well as, having 'Black Lives Matter' in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus
AP
7/50 16 June 2020
Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing's biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak
PA
8/50 15 June 2020
Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors
Getty
9/50 14 June 2020
A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017
PA
10/50 13 June 2020
Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance
PA
11/50 12 June 2020
A Black Lives Matter supporter sings to crowds who marched with her in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London. The death of an African American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
12/50 11 June 2020
Scouts show their support at the Lord Baden-Powell statue in Poole. The statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay is to be placed in "safe storage" following concerns about his racial views
Getty
13/50 10 June 2020
Social distancing markers around the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Staff have been preparing and are now ready for reopening next week with new signage, one-way trails for visitors to follow, and extra handwashing and sanitiser stations in place
PA
14/50 9 June 2020
Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford
AFP via Getty
15/50 8 June 2020
Hermione Wilson helps to install a new artwork at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, created as a tribute to the NHS titled "A Thousand Thank Yous" originally devised by the late Allan Kaprow which consists of colourful painted messages on cardboard and has been directed remotely by London-based artist Peter Liversidge
PA
16/50 7 June 2020
The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol
SWNS
17/50 6 June 2020
Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
18/50 5 June 2020
Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world
Getty
19/50 4 June 2020
Protestors march from Windsor Castle in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement
Getty
20/50 3 June 2020
People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis
Reuters
21/50 2 June 2020
Street artist Nath Murdoch touches up his anti-racism mural in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
PA
22/50 1 June 2020
Customers socially distance themselves as they queue to enter Ikea in Warrington. The store opening saw large queues of people and traffic on adjacent roads as it reopened after the lockdown. The furniture and housewares chain reopened its stores across England and Northern Ireland subject to several restrictions, keeping its restaurants closed and asking customers to shop alone
Getty
23/50 31 May 2020
A man wearing a protective face mask kneels in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd near the U.S. Embassy, London, Britai
Reuters
24/50 30 May 2020
Visitors at Grassholme Reservoir in Lunedale, Co Durham are able to cross an ancient packhorse bridge as work on the dam wall means water levels have dropped signifcantly to reveal this monument of the pas
UK
25/50 29 May 2020
British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government's plan for gradually lifting lockdown
PA
26/50 28 May 2020
A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton
Getty
27/50 27 May 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears before the Liaison Committee via Zoom from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, amid the coronavirus
10 Downing Street/Reuters
28/50 26 May 2020
Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay in Margate
Getty
29/50 25 May 2020
Dominic Cummings, senior aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, makes a statement inside 10 Downing Street, London, over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown restrictions
AP
30/50 24 May 2020
A demonstrator holds a sign reading 'Why are you above the law?' outside the house of Dominic Cummings in London, following allegations Cummings broke coronavirus lockdown rules by travelling across the country
Reuters
31/50 23 May 2020
People take a walk near Durdle Door as cows graze in Lulworth
Reuters
32/50 22 May 2020
Waves break onto a wall at Brighton beach
Reuters
33/50 21 May 2020
Cafe owner Francini Osorio serves customers in a trial phase during the coronavirus lockdown. Osorio has installed an air purifier and 35 clear shower curtains, which will divide customers and tables, in the Francini Cafe De Colombia, Worcester, ready for the re-opening of his business as lockdown restrictions are eased
PA
34/50 20 May 2020
People at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased. The Met Office has predicted the hottest day of the year
PA
35/50 19 May 2020
A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London
AP
36/50 18 May 2020
A fan celebrates outside Celtic Park after Celtic were crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership. Hearts were also relegated after a decision was made to conclude the season with immediate effect
PA
37/50 17 May 2020
People on Brighton beach after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown
PA
38/50 16 May 2020
Police lead away Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as protesters gather in breach of lockdown rules in Hyde Park in London after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown.
PA
39/50 15 May 2020
Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
40/50 14 May 2020
Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork "Theatre of Dott's" by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians' Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
41/50 13 May 2020
Team GB's karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
42/50 12 May 2020
Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
43/50 11 May 2020
Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
44/50 10 May 2020
A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
45/50 9 May 2020
Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
46/50 8 May 2020
The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
47/50 7 May 2020
Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
Reuters
48/50 6 May 2020
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
49/50 5 May 2020
The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
50/50 4 May 2020
Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute's silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
Police have been arresting more right-wing terror suspects in the period, making white people the largest ethnic group detained.
The statistics were published as police announced the prosecution of an alleged far-right extremist.
George Fowle, a 19-year-old from Kent, has been charged possessing material useful to a person planning an attack, after being arrested at Heathrow airport.
Counter-terror police named far-right terrorism as the fastest-growing threat to the UK earlier this year, but said the greatest danger still comes from jihadis.
Awareness of the risk has been rising globally after a series of right-wing terror attacks including those that occured in Finsbury Park , Christchurch , El Paso and Halle .
Of the 24 attack plots foiled by security services in Britain since March 2017, 16 were Islamist and eight were far-right.
MI5 has been brought into tackle the phenomenon for the first time, after the government abolished a historical division that classed neo-Nazism as “domestic extremism” and jihadism as “international”.
Prevent, which is currently being reviewed after years of criticism , aims to stop people from being drawn into extremism before they present a security risk or commit offences.
The total number of referrals – 5,738 – was down by a fifth on the previous year, which saw five-terror attacks strike London and Manchester.
Suspected Islamists and far-right extremists each made up 24 per cent of the total, while 38 per cent were flagged over a “mixed, unstable or unclear ideology” and 14 per cent were referred over other types of radicalisation.
Facebook bans far-right groups such as BNP , EDL and Britain First
“Although numbers were comparatively low, this includes international radicalisation groups and left-wing radicalisation, for example,” a Home Office document said.
The largest age group was children and young people aged 20 and under, because many referrals come from education workers who are bound to raise concerns formally under the controversial Prevent “duty”.
The vast majority of people referred were male, and the largest number came from the north east of England, followed by London, the north west, south east and West Midlands.
“The figures clearly demonstrate that Prevent is about protecting vulnerable people from any and all toxic ideologies that seek to lure them towards terrorism,” said chief superintendent Nik Adams, the national Prevent coordinator.
“The sheer volume of cases we see with mixed or unclear ideology demonstrates that complex behavioural needs and mental ill health can create a significant vulnerability to radicalisation.”
A quarter of people referred to Prevent “required no further action” and half were passed on to other services, such as education, housing and mental health, for alternative support.
A further 23 per cent were considered by the Channel counter-radicalisation scheme, which sees people paired with “intervention providers”, such as imams or former Nazis, to help combat the ideology as their progress is regularly reviewed.
Most people receiving Channel support in the year were right-wing extremists (45 per cent), followed by Islamists (37 per cent).
Ch Supt Adams said increased Channel cases indicated “that professionals, friends and families who make referrals better understand the risks of radicalisation and how Prevent can help”.
“Early intervention is key,” he added. “Experience has shown us that it is so much harder to pull somebody back once extremist views have become entrenched.”
The statistics were published amid a review of the Prevent programme, which has faced longstanding accusations of driving discrimination and violations of free speech and religion.
A legal challenge has been launched against the structure of the probe and appointment of independent reviewer Lord Carlile, after he called the probe “completely unnecessary” and claimed it was based on a “complete lack of evidence”.
Brandon Lewis, the security minister, said: “Today’s Prevent figures show the threat from the far right continues, a problem seen across Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the US.
“We have already taken robust action in response including banning neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action in 2016, and there have been several successful prosecutions against its members.
“These statistics show that Prevent is improving, with education, health and social care staff increasingly recognising Prevent as part of their safeguarding responsibilities. However, we must continue to work closely with communities to build resilience to the poisonous ideologies of the far right and Islamist extremism, which have no place in Britain.”
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