Hate preachers will be banned from entering mosques and universities under plans by Theresa May to ensure Anjem Choudary’s radicalisation of young Britons can never be repeated.
Ministers are looking at whether they can order blanket bans to stop extremists addressing large groups in public as an additional measure to clamp down on radicalisation.
The government is also considering what more can be done to force social media sites to take down extremist messages and videos posted online.
The changes go further than anything brought into law by David Cameron and could form the centrepiece of a new Extremism Bill due to be placed before Parliament by May.
It is understood Mrs May sees countering extremism in Britain as one of her “top priorities” since entering Number 10 and has already held talks with officials on the topic.
The limits of current anti-terror laws are back in the spotlight this week afterthe conviction of hate preacher Anjem Choudary almost 20 years after concerns about him were first raised.
Choudary was found to be linked to 15 terror plots since 2000 and more than 500 British jihadists fighting with Isil as well as promoting his extremist views on social media.
David Anderson, the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, called for ministers to consider tightening the law to avoid repeats.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said of current anti-terror measures: “These are useful offences, they are being increasingly used, but I think one would have to admit that until now the law has barely touched Anjem Choudary.
“In the meantime a lot of people have been radicalised and yes, we do need to look at what might be done if there are impediments, technical reasons why it’s not as easy to get convictions under these laws as it should be.”
Government officials are understood to be worried by the ease with which extremists can radicalise young Britons by preaching their warped views while not breaking the law.
One measure they are considering to tackle the problem is banning known hate preachers from attending certain mosques, community groups and universities. Another similar measure would see radicals barred from speaking to groups of a certain size in public.
A third area being looked into is giving the security services more powers to order Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to take down extremist material – though ministers are limited in what they can do because the companies are based overseas.
Full proposals on tackling radicalisation will be put into a government consultation before eventually forming the basis of the Extremism Bill, announced in this year’s Queen’s Speech.
Speaking on the Today Programme, Mr Anderson raised concerns about increasing restrictions on suspected extremists that did not need courts to approve.
He said bypassing juries when tackling extremism could be “very dangerous” and that there was a chance it would be “counter-productive”.
Mr Anderson also urged internet companies to treat extremist videos and messages with the same seriousness as images of child sexual abuse and act more swiftly to remove them.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Harun Khan, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, calls on a renewed focus on youth to stop radicalisation.
“British Muslim civil society – mosques and associations – must infuse in young Muslims a vision and a dream, that they have a stake in Britain: that they are an integral part of this society, and that they can be a proud Briton as well as a proud Muslim,” he writes.
Mr Khan adds: “I want to inculcate in young Muslims a sure sense of belonging and convince them that whatever the extremists, racists and Islamophobes may say, they are an integral part of British society, that they belong to Britain and Britain belongs to them.”
Anjem Choudary | Inflammatory quotes
- “When Sharia law is implemented, maybe in 10 or 15 years’ time, she [the Queen] would be expected like all women in Britain to be covered from head to toe, only revealing her face and hands.”
- “Thieves would have various warnings first, and only in cases where he has stolen more than £20 of non-perishable goods from a private house would his hand be chopped off.”
- “Under Sharia and under the Koran the sale of alcohol is prohibited and if one were to also drink alcohol, that would be 40 lashes.”
- “There will be no more pubs, no more gambling houses, no more national lottery.”
- “All women would have to be covered up appropriately and wear the niqab or veil and so there will be no prostitution.”
- “By 2050, Britain will be a majority Muslim country. It will be the end of freedom of democracy and submission to God.”
- “We don’t believe in democracy, as soon as they have authority, Muslims should implement Sharia. This is what we’re trying to teach people.”
Profile | Anjem Choudary
Born: 18 January 1967 (age 49)
From: Welling, London
Background: Anjem Choudary is a British Muslim and social and political activist. He was previously a solicitor and served as the chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers, and was the spokesman for Islam4UK
In July 2016 Mr Choudary was convicted of inviting support for a proscribed organisation. He had sworn an oath of allegiance to Isil on social media.
Education: He attended Mulgrave Primary School, in Woolwich. He enrolled as a medical student at the University of Southampton, where he was known as Andy, but failed his first-year exams
Past work: Co-founder of Islamic organisation al-Muhajiroun, which he founded with Omar Bakri Muhammed