Radical Islamists could be banned from working unsupervised with children under new plans to tackle extremism, according to a leaked draft of a Home Office strategy paper.
A review of Sharia courts, changes to citizenship rules to ensure the applicants embrace “British values” and a penalty scheme to make people on benefits learn English are among other proposals under consideration. Job centre staff may be required to identify claimants vulnerable to radicalisation.
The measures are outlined in the draft, which warns that the government needs to be “more assertive” in challenging extremism.
The proposed measures come after Mohammed Emwazi, a London university graduate, was revealed to be the Islamic State terrorist known as Jihadi John.
The document reportedly states that “in the past there has been a risk that the government sends an ambivalent and dangerous message - that it doesn’t really matter if you don’t believe in democracy”.
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It says: “We need to stand up and be more assertive in promoting our values and challenging the extremists who fundamentally oppose them. This will include explaining our foreign policy (and) promoting mainstream voices supporting the quiet majority in all communities who oppose extremism.”
The “particularly concerning” Trojan Horse plot, in which some schools were taken over by Islamist radicals, was “not an isolated example of schools where extreme views became prevalent”, the document states.
It describes universities, councils and charities as being vulnerable to “entryism”, in which people with extremist views seek influential positions from where they can promote their values.
The report discloses that the government is “concerned about the way Sharia councils are working in some parts of the country”.
Violence against women, such as female genital mutilation and honour killings, are also likely to be targeted by the approach.
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Publication of the strategy has been delayed amid arguments over how strongly worded it should be, but it is likely to be published before the the general election, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
In November the government unveiled a package of counter-terror measures in an attempt to bolster the UK’s defences amid warnings of a growing extremist threat.
The new Counter-terrorism and Security Bill places a legal requirement on schools, prisons and councils to implement policies or programmes to stop would-be extremists from being drawn into terrorism.
Other measures include the clarification of legislation to ensure that insurance companies can no longer foot the bill for terrorist ransoms, blocking foreign fighters from returning to the UK and reintroduced powers to relocate terror suspects across the country.