Babies and toddlers referred to counterterror scheme hundreds of times

"A Freedom of Information request submitted by Hyphen to the Home Office revealed that children aged between two to five were referred a further 500 times between 2016-27 to 2023-24. Nearly half (46 per cent) of the Prevent referrals for children under the age of 10 during this period were for Islamist concerns, with the figure jumping to 70 per cent for under three-year-olds."

"Prevent is one of the four strands of the national counterterrorism strategy Contest, which aims at identifying individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism and offers them support to steer them away from extremism. Latest Home Office data showed that the Prevent programme received a record number of referrals since 2015 (Alamy/PA) Overall, the scheme has received 2,989 referrals of concern regarding under 10-year-olds, with 1,390 of these being Islamist concerns."

"The human rights charity Rights and Security International had raised concerns in January that the personal data of those referred was remaining in other databases indefinitely, even after being deleted from the Prevent database after six years. They argued that this was risking real long-term impacts on the person referred, including children who have since become adults. In response to the findings, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Hyphen it was shocking, saddening and utterly farcical that babies and toddlers have been referred to Prevent. He added: These latest revelations expose how certain communities are criminalised for simply existing - to the point where even babies and toddlers are stereotyped and labelled as extremists."

Since 2016, hundreds of babies and toddlers have been referred to the government's Prevent counterterrorism programme, including 45 infants under one. A Freedom of Information request to the Home Office recorded 500 referrals for children aged two to five between 2016-27 and 2023-24. Overall, Prevent logged 2,989 referrals concerning under 10-year-olds, with 1,390 flagged as Islamist concerns. Rights and Security International warned that personal data of those referred can remain in other databases indefinitely even after Prevent deletions, posing long-term risks. Political figures described the referrals of very young children as shocking and concerning.

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