Government’s new extremism definition will ‘vilify the wrong people’, warn Muslim organisations
The government’s proposal to redefine extremism will “vilify the wrong people” and “risk more division”, according to a coalition of Muslim organisations.
Signatories include groups which fear they may fall under the new definition announced as part of the government’s new counter-extremism strategy today.
CAGE International, Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), and 5Pillars say “the proposed definition signals an attack on civil liberties by attacking law-abiding individuals and groups that oppose government policy by labelling them as ‘extremist'”.
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A spokesperson for the coalition added: “This new extremism definition is a solution looking for a problem.
“It attacks one of the cherished cornerstones of our pluralistic democracy – that of free speech.
“Anyone, regardless of faith or political colour should be free to criticise the government of the day without being labelled as ‘extremist'”.
This follows warnings by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, that the proposals risk “disproportionately targeting Muslim communities”.
Sky News also spoke to Shakeel Afsar, a vocal protester who has led pro-Palestinian demonstrations through the streets of Birmingham.
Mr Afsar at a protest. Pic: Shak_afsar1
Mr Afsar told Sky News: “This is only being passed to silence us and to put a zip on our mouth and say what you are saying is not acceptable, it won’t be entertained, and that’s wrong.
“This is not the democratic country that I grew up in. As far as I was aware, we had a right to speak.
“And what I’m saying is not my view. You could take a walk down streets in many areas and every single thing that we have said and done is agreed by many, many thousands of British citizens.”
Mr Afsar made headlines five years ago when a protest exclusion zone was set up around a Birmingham primary school after he led a campaign against the inclusion of LGBT literature.
He’s more recently re-emerged organising pro-Palestinian marches.
In one video, he tells the crowd: “The local police have released a statement saying we cannot say ‘from the river to the sea,’ so what do we say…”
The crowd chants back: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
He says he does not support what Hamas did on 7 October last year. However, his views and actions might still be considered extremist.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Communities Secretary Michael Gove said “when you’re saying ‘from the river to the sea’, you’re explicitly saying, ‘I want to see the end of Israel as a Jewish State’.”
Michael Gove. Pic: No 10 Downing Street
Responding, Mr Afsar said: “I want to see the end of the occupying force that is forcefully occupying Palestine.
“And I want to see the British establishment support the right of the Palestinians to arm themselves and defend themselves against the oppressors.”
He denies that this means the annihilation of Israel, but rather that they create “a democratic country, where they all live peacefully”.
Mr Gove said pro-Palestinian events “have been organised by extremist organisations”.
And it will be one of the challenges of this definition to decide who falls under it.
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Minister defends new definition of extremism
The current definition defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to British values”.
However, Sky News understands the updated definition is going to include the “promotion or advancement of ideology based on hatred, intolerance or violence or undermining or overturning the rights or freedoms of others, or of undermining democracy itself”.
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Dr Alan Mendoza, from the Henry Jackson Society, told Sky News: “This definition does not ban extremism.
“What it bans is the government giving money or platforms to extremists.
“You can still have freedom of thought on this basis, but I think what is quite clear is we don’t want extremist groups to be empowered by government – we want them as far away in the margins of life as possible.”
But one group which fears it will be banned is MEND.
It opposed the government’s anti-radicalisation programme Prevent and accused them of Islamophobia. It also helps train institutions about Islamophobia.
Abdullah Saif. Pic: Andy Portch
Abdullah Saif, who represents the group in Birmingham, said: “People who engage with the Muslim community, whether it be in the hospital or the police or any other organisations, universities, they reach out to us saying, listen, you have some really good material and we’d like you to train our staff, to talk to us about these issues.
“If it does indeed come about that we are all put on some kind of list, [it] is to kind of stifle that kind of conversation.
“I think it’s an old tactic really, that if someone is against you, then you just put this label on them and then you don’t have to engage with them.”
The government says it’s trying to identify all forms of extremism, including far-right groups. But many Muslims fear this will disproportionately affect them.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Follow live: Latest updates as flights halted
Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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