How Prevent is tackling young extremism 20 years after the 7/7 bombings

Published

4 months ago

July 6, 2025

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Radicalised nine-year-olds, teenagers mixing incel culture with extreme right ideologies and a Muslim who idolises Hitler – this is just some of the casework of those tasked with deradicalising young extremists in the UK.

Monday will mark 20 years since the 7/7 attacks on the London transport network when four suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 770 others.

A year later the government set up its deradicalisation programme Prevent as part of its counter-terrorism strategy.

Sky News has spoken to two leading intervention providers (IPs) at Prevent who both say their work is getting ever more complex and the referrals younger.

The Metropolitan Police’s Prevent co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, has also told Sky News it is “tragic” that when it comes to terrorism, “one in five of all our arrests is a child under 17”.

She believes parents should talk to their children about what they are reading and seeing online.

“Parents instinctively know when something doesn’t feel right when their child is becoming withdrawn or isolated – not wanting to engage,” she says.

People worried that someone they know has thoughts that could lead to terrorism can refer them to Prevent.

‘A pic-n-mix of ideologies’

Home Office figures show 11-year-olds are the largest age group to get referred.

Concerning cases are passed on to IPs such as Nigel Bromage who told Sky News: “Often there will be a pic-n-mix of ideologies.

“From my own examples and experience, we are aware of people looking at the incel culture and mixing that with some far-right elements.”

Incels, meaning “involuntary celibates” are men who have been unable to have a relationship with women despite wanting one and become misogynistic and hateful as a result.

Like many IPs, Mr Bromage from Birmingham comes from an extremist background himself, having once been a regional organiser for the proscribed Neo-Nazi group Combat 18.

For him too, it began as a child.

“It all started with someone giving me a leaflet outside my school gates,” Mr Bromage says.

“It told me a horrific story about a mum getting killed by an IRA bomb explosion – and at the end of the leaflet there was a call to action which said: ‘If you think it’s wrong then do something about it’.”

He developed a hatred for Irish republican terrorism which morphed into general racism and national socialism.

“At the very end I thought I was going to go to prison, or I would end up being hurt or even killed because of my political beliefs,” he says.

Boy, 9, groomed by his brother

Mr Bromage reveals his youngest case was a nine-year-old who had been groomed by his brother.

“He was being shown pro-Nazi video games, and his older brother was saying ‘when I go to prison or I get in trouble – they you’re the next generation – you’re the one who needs to continue the fight’,” he says.

“Really, he had no interest in the racist games – he just wanted to impress his brother and be loved by his brother.”

Every year, nearly 300 children who are 10 or younger are referred to Prevent.

Home Office figures show that over the last six years 50% of referrals were children under the age of 18.

Eleven-year-olds alone make up a third of total referrals, averaging just over 2,000 a year, with the figure rising even higher in the most recent stats.

Another IP, Abdul Ahad, specialises in Islamic extremism.

He says the catalyst for radicalisation often comes from events aboard.

Ten years ago, it was Syria, more recently Gaza.

“It is often a misplaced desire to do something effective – to matter, to make a difference. It gives them purpose, camaraderie and belonging as well – you feel part of something bigger than you,” he says.

Clients want someone to ‘hear them’

Some of his clients “don’t fit into any particular box”.

“I’m working with a guy at the minute, he’s a young Muslim but he idolises Hitler and he’s written a manifesto,” he says.

“When you break it down, some people don’t know where they fit in, but they want to fit in somewhere.”

Mr Ahad says the young individual mostly admires Hitler’s “strength” rather than his ideologies and that he was drawn to darker characters in history.

Often his clients are very isolated and just want someone to “hear them”, he adds.

Mr Ahad is also an imam who preaches at the Al-Azar Mosque in South Shields, a well-regarded centre for community cohesion and outreach.

He uses his understanding of the Islamic faith in his Prevent sessions to help guide his referrals away from extreme interpretations of the Koran by offering “understanding and context”.

He says: “We quote the correct religious texts – we explain their responsibility as a Muslim living in the UK and we re-direct their energies into something more constructive.”

Common theme of mental health issues

Mental health problems are a common theme among those referred to Prevent including depression and autism.

A recent inquest into the death of autistic teenager Rhianan Rudd found she took her own life after being radicalised by two white supremacists.

Her mother was critical of Prevent, as well as the police and MI5 after she had referred her daughter to the deradicalisation programme and Rhianan was subsequently charged with terrorism offences.

Last month a coroner found some failings in the processes around protecting Rhianan, but none of them attributable to Rhianan taking her own life.

Det Supt Corrigan says a referral doesn’t mean individuals end up being arrested or on an MI5 watchlist.

She says: “You’re not reporting a crime, but you are seeking support. I would say the earlier you can come in and talk to us about the concerns you have the better. Prevent is just that – it is a pre-criminal space.

“It’s tragic when you see the number of young people being arrested for very serious charges. Just look at terrorism – one in five of all our arrests is a child under the age of 17. We need to think about how we respond to that.”

Prevent has been criticised for failures such as when Southport killer Axel Rudakabana failed to be recognised as needing intervention despite three referrals, or when MP David Amiss’ killer Ali Harbi Ali went through the programme and killed anyway.

It’s harder to quantify its successes.

Mr Ahad says he understands why the failures hit the headlines, but he believes the programme is saving lives.

He says: “I think the vast majority of people get radicalised online because they are sitting in their room reading all this content without any context or scholarly input. They see one version of events and they get so far down the rabbit hole they can’t pull themselves out.

“I really wish Prevent was around when I was a young, lost 15-year-old because there was nothing around then. It’s about listening to people engaging with them and offering them a way of getting out of that extremism.”

‘Radicalisation can happen in days to weeks’

Det Supt Corrigan says: “I’ve sat with parents whose children have gone on to commit the most horrendous crimes and they all spotted something.

“Now, with hindsight, they wished they had done something or acted early. That’s why we created this programme, because radicalisation can happen in days to weeks.”

Twenty years on from 7/7 the shape of the terrorist threat has shifted, the thoughts behind it harder to categorise, but it is no less dangerous.

UK

Biggest schools shake-up in a decade to cut GCSE exam time – and add AI and fake news lessons

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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Biggest schools shake-up in a decade to cut GCSE exam time - and add AI and fake news lessons

The government has announced it will cut GCSE exam time by up to three hours per student.

The final report from a curriculum and assessment review – commissioned by Labour last year, and the biggest of its kind for a decade – recommends cutting the overall volume of exams at Key Stage 4 by 10%, ruling the current amount as “excessive”.

It also calls for the introduction of new maths and English tests in Year 8 to help teachers identify learning gaps sooner, the addition of mandatory citizenship lessons in primary schools, and a major overhaul of the Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation, and spelling test.

AI among new subjects

The reforms to the national curriculum will also include a focus on AI and data science for post-16 students.

For the first time, primary-aged children will be taught how to spot fake news and identify misinformation and disinformation. This will help them develop their critical thinking skills and protect them when online.

Primary pupils will also learn more about the fundamentals of money. The review recognises that children are now consumers often before they reach secondary school.

A new compulsory reading test in Year 8 will be introduced. This will be in addition to a writing assessment in Year 6, as well as SATs, to identify pupils who need extra support.

Is another exam in Year 8 the right move?

Anjum Peerbacos

Education reporter

Are more exams the only way standards can be improved?

Primary colleagues have said SATs are not the best way to assess children. Previously, primary teachers have taken industrial action over this issue.

There is a danger this additional exam will exacerbate an exam factory culture which already exists in many schools. As a former secondary school teacher and parent I have seen first-hand how many hours of exams the system expects fifteen and sixteen-year-olds to do for their GCSEs.

There has been a huge rise in issues in young people’s mental health and the topic of exams is one of huge stress for young people. To introduce another compulsory exam seems rather short-sighted.

Exams are not the only way to drive up standards for young people and improve their life chances. Is the new system setting up another opportunity to fail?

Schools will also be expected to work towards offering triple science GCSE as standard.

This comes alongside the government exploring a new qualification for 16-18 year olds in data science and AI, with a view to encourage more young people into science and tech careers.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the changes “will help young people step boldly into the future, with the knowledge to achieve and the skills to thrive as the world around us continues to rapidly evolve”.

Read more from Sky News:
The 100-year trend that may be about to break

Additionally, the government will publish an oracy framework to help ensure more young people become confident and effective speakers, building on the success of existing reading and writing frameworks.

It is also committed to ensuring all pupils retain access to sport and the arts.

UK

‘Human error’ may have led to grooming gangs investigations being dropped, review says

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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'Human error' may have led to grooming gangs investigations being dropped, review says

A major review to unearth failures to tackle grooming gangs has found that potential human error led to some police investigations being dropped.

The review – named Operation Beaconport – is looking into cases between 1 January 2010 and 31 March this year.

Thousands of cases are expected to come under scrutiny.

So far, 1,273 files from 23 police forces have been referred to the review, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), of which 236 are being examined as a priority because they involve allegations of rape.

NCA deputy director Nigel Leary said initial reviews suggest there were mistakes in some investigations.

He said: “Initial reviews have identified that in some cases where there has been a decision to take no further action (NFA), there were available lines of inquiry that could have been pursued.

“We’ve seen in those cases what appears to be potentially human error.”

Mr Leary said that in some cases the inquiries haven’t followed what the NCA would characterise as “proper investigative practice”.

“That includes, for example, lines of inquiry being identified but not being followed, victim accounts not being taken in a way that we would recognise as best practice, and suspects not being pursued or interviewed in the ways that we would anticipate,” he said.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police announced officers were reviewing 9,000 cases of child sexual exploitation.

It is expected that some of these will be referred to Operation Beaconport, which is looking at cases involving two or more suspects, more than one victim, contact offences, where the suspects are still alive, and that have not already been independently reviewed.

The investigation into grooming gangs and other non-familial sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, Operation Stovewood, has cost £89m over 11 years. It is not clear how much the latest investigation will cost.

However, Mr Leary said it would be the “most comprehensive investigation of its type in UK history”, with the NCA estimating thousands of officers will be involved in the overall operation.

Victims will fear that wrongs are discovered, but not righted

There is already a system in place for what are known as “non-recent” sexual abuse cases to be reviewed called Operation Hydrant.

But the NCA is looking to identify cases in the last five years, which could show that women and girls are still being failed by police forces.

Worryingly, the NCA says it has “already identified investigations that were incorrectly closed with no further action taken” as police chiefs are ordered to hand over their files in hundreds of closed cases under powers unique to the NCA.

This often comes with mixed feelings for the survivors. When Sky News investigated a closed case called Operation Marksman into an alleged grooming gang in Hull in 2021 – the case was reopened. A review team found the initial investigation was “flawed” and a new team in Humberside was ordered to re-investigate.

But, two years on, the young women involved told Sky News they were angry and frustrated to discover the new team had only just finished going through the original files. What is more, evidence gets old – phones and laptops get swapped and deleted, DNA evidence has long disappeared.

This will run alongside the government’s national public inquiry, which has faltered after two potential chairs pulled out due to pressure from victims on the inquiry panel.

With police resources stretched in many directions, what may happen is wrongs are discovered but not righted.

However, encouragingly, this isn’t just a review exercise by the NCA but also an effort to learn from mistakes, improve methodology, share more data which, if done well, could build a better success rate.

Officials are recording the ethnicity of suspects and victims as part of the review, and have found gaps in the existing data that they are trying to fill.

As they examine cases, they aim to flag any dangerous suspects, and any that are at risk of fleeing the UK.

Investigators have vowed to be “honest and transparent” with victims from the start, to avoid giving them unrealistic expectations.

Richard Fewkes, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said while going after perpetrators is important, some victims will just want to feel they are being listened to.

He said: “Justice means different things for different victims and survivors, and no one victim and survivor is the same.

“For some, justice is just being believed, perhaps for the first time, by someone in authority – being listened to.

“Or it might even be understanding that the review has taken place, a reinvestigation has taken place in an appropriate, focused, robust way, but nothing more can be done.

“For some that is justice in their mind.”

UK

Number of female MPs could plummet for first time if no action taken

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2025

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Number of female MPs could plummet for first time if no action taken

The number of female MPs could plummet for the first time in more than a century if action is not taken now, campaigners have warned.

If Reform UK, which has led voting intention polls since April, or the Conservatives, win the next general election, women’s representation would fall drastically.

Politics Hub: Latest updates and analysis

A Labour win would stall the current percentage of female MPs, which stands at its highest ever at 41% (264 out of 650) – but is still lower than the UK population, of which 51% are women.

If Reform win the next election, set for 2029, women’s representation could fall to 26%, analysis of Electoral Calculus polling data by 50:50 Parliament found.

If the Tories win, 33% of MPs would be women, while Labour would remain the same.

What does history tell us?

Every parliament since women were allowed to be MPs in 1918 has seen an increase, apart from small drops in 1950, 1979 and 2001.

Nancy Astor was the first woman to take her seat in the Commons and served from 1919 to 1945.

The 80s saw a substantial increase in female MPs before a large jump in 1997, and there has been a big rise from 128 women MPs in 2005 to the current 264.

Despite this, no major party reached gender parity in its selection of candidates for last year’s election.

Labour selected 47% women, Greens were at 44%, Conservatives 34%, Lib Dems 28% and Reform 16%.

50:50 Parliament, which campaigns for gender equality in politics, is calling for people to “Ask Her to Stand” to encourage more women to get involved with politics to help balance the scales.

It has installed a “push for equality” panic button outside parliament to raise awareness of the gender disparity.

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow since 2010, has campaigned for abortion rights, childcare reform, and became the first MP to appoint a locum MP to manage constituency work during her maternity leave, after campaigning for better maternity rights for MPs.

She told Sky News gender parity in parliament is important, as a broad range of views and experiences is needed “to shape good quality policymaking”.

“For me, this is not about electing women for the sake of it, or because they champion women’s rights per se; it is because gender balance will lead to better outcomes for all and the furthering of all of our rights,” she said.

“There is strength in diversity, and we cannot hope to make decent policy, or pass good legislation, if half of the population are not adequately represented in the House.

“Childcare is a perfect example – it isn’t just good for mums, it is essential infrastructure for society and therefore the economy to get it right.”

‘Why would you think men are better at politics?’

Harriet Harman, a Labour peer and co-host of Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, is a former minister who put forward the Equality Bill, now the Equality Act 2010, which protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

She told Sky News: “The time is long past that women could be expected to put up with men making all the decisions.

“Male-dominated parliaments are evidence of discrimination. Unless you think men are just better at politics than women. And why would you think that?

“A team of men and women with a breadth of experience is what works best. Who wants to go back to the old boys’ network running the country? Not me.”

‘Different voices make better decisions’

Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Baroness Ruth Davidson, also a co-host of Electoral Dysfunction, said parliament “works better when it looks and feels closer to the country it seeks to represent”.

“Women politicians often have different experiences before entering parliament, including in their prior interactions with public services,” she added.

“It is important that laws and funding decided in the Commons and elsewhere are informed by the widest experience of how such decisions impact in practice.

“Having different voices round the table, offering challenge from a variety of perspectives, is how you make better laws, better decisions and a better Britain.”

Lyanne Nicholl, CEO of 50:50 Parliament, said the impact of their prediction playing out will be “devastating”, as she pointed out gender parity “isn’t about party politics – it’s about democracy”.

She said “we risk turning back the clock” and policymaking “ignoring half the population”, as she called the data a “wake-up call” for everyone.