UK Rights Group Slams Broad ’Illegality’, Anti-Muslim Trait of Government’s Anti-terror Plan

By Staff, Agencies

A British rights group expressed alarm over the UK’s controversial Prevent strategy, insisting that the purported anti-terror plan has led to unlawful collection of personal data and facilitated “widespread illegality.”

Describing the government policy as "confused, secretive, and illegal," a report published this week by Rights and Security International [RSI] further emphasized, "Prevent, like other aspects of the government's national security strategy, operates largely in secrecy. The handling of people's personal data under Prevent is no exception."

The report also pointed out that the holding of information in Prevent databases, which is accessed by the police, intelligence services and other public bodies, appeared to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR].

Meanwhile, RSI’s Jacob Smith – who helped compile the alarming report – told MEE that "since Prevent’s introduction, the strategy has negatively affected Muslim and other minority communities, activists or individuals who hold different political or religious opinions."

Smith further expressed concerns that the hoarding of Prevent data would disproportionately impact Britain's Muslim community and lead them to be targeted by British police and other security agencies.

While the RSI report acknowledges that British law allows the collection and retention of data by the intelligence services "potentially on a massive scale" on national security grounds, it also points out that the UK government has not demonstrated that the retention of data gathered through Prevent was a necessary or effective means of stopping terrorism.

According to the RSI report, it was also likely that the British government was sharing data gathered through Prevent with other countries.

The Prevent Duty, introduced in 2015, requires all public bodies including universities, schools and hospitals to refer people to the program if they are assessed to be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

Critics of the controversial program, including Muslim community and human rights advocacy organizations, argue that it discriminates against Muslims and may be counter-productive.