A weak 11-year-old boy with particular wants was referred to anti-terror scheme Stop by his college after a fellow pupil accused him of claiming he ‘wished the college would burn down’.
The boy, a Muslim of Asian heritage whose id and faculty haven’t been revealed, is on the particular academic wants register as he suffers from nervousness after witnessing home violence at his household residence from the age of 4.
He subsequently needed to transfer to a secure home along with his mom and sibling for a yr.
His mom, a instructor at a special college in the identical space of the north of England, reacted with fury after being notified of the referral and stated ‘being a brown, Muslim, Asian boy doesn’t make you a terrorist’.
It comes amid repeatedly accusations from critics that Stop has change into hijacked by ‘political correctness’ and its officers divert too many sources in direction of suspected far-right extremists regardless of Islamist radicals posing a ‘far larger risk’.
The boy’s mom instructed The Guardian that her son was struggling stress as a result of trauma skilled throughout his upbringing and, whereas his feedback had been unacceptable, it was an remoted incident introduced on by nervousness over homework.
The mom additionally stated she has mentioned alternative routes for her son to alleviate the stress he experiences at college.
Underneath the Stop programme, native authority employees and different professionals comparable to medical doctors, lecturers and social employees have an obligation to flag considerations about a person being radicalised or drawn right into a terrorism.
The varsity is known to have made the referral, regardless of the boy’s younger age and clear legal file, after consulting a neighborhood police officer.
An investigation into the feedback, although, discovered no proof that the schoolboy was in touch with or supported any extremist teams that might have put him prone to being radicalised.
The 11-year-old boy was referred by his college to Stop after it acquired a report by one other pupil, whose youthful sibling stated he heard the boy make the remark. Pictured: A inventory picture of schoolchildren
Paperwork additionally confirmed there was no sample of behaviour that might have triggered sufficient concern for the college to refer the pupil.
The case was shortly closed by a Stop officer, who has confirmed the matter won’t be topic to additional investigation.
Nonetheless, whereas the programme has determined to not take the criticism any additional, the boy’s particulars had been added to the counter-terror policing database – the place they’re usually held for six years.
The boy’s mom made a criticism to his college relating to the actual fact she had not been knowledgeable that lecturers had interviewed her son about his alleged comment – reported by one other pupil whose youthful sibling stated he heard the boy make the remark.
The varsity’s investigation into her criticism has concluded that an apology ought to be revamped its failure to inform her of the referral to Stop.
The mom stated: ‘I used to be instructed by the Stop officer that the matter wouldn’t be taken any additional because it seemed just like the matter associated to “an 11-year-old boy scuffling with college”.
‘My son had change into so sad and pressured in regards to the calls for positioned on him referring to homework.’
She needed to combat to have her son’s identify faraway from the counter-terrorism policing database, regardless of her son’s younger age and clear legal file.
The mom described the removing of his identify as ‘a partial victory’, however is looking for additional info on recordsdata held by the Dwelling Workplace.
Dr Layla Aitlhadj, director of the Stop Watch group that helps individuals impacted by referrals to the programme, stated it was ‘extraordinarily worrying’ that ‘hundreds of kids are being referred to Stop who’ve under no circumstances been suspected of against the law’.
Out of 4,915 circumstances flagged to the federal government’s flagship anti-terror programme within the yr ending March, 2021, 25% associated to suspected excessive right-wing beliefs and 22% to Islamist ones. Since 2015/16, there was a dramatic drop within the variety of preliminary referrals over considerations of Islamic radicalisation and a gradual enhance in these regarding far-right beliefs
Dwelling Workplace figures beforehand printed in March this yr confirmed there have been 157 people in jail classed as ‘Islamist extremist’ in comparison with a 44 categorised as ‘excessive right-wing’
Among the many 688 circumstances deemed essentially the most severe and handed onto Channel – which mentors people to show them away from terrorist causes – 46% involved right-wing terror and 22% Islamism
These pie charts present share splits for various ideologies over every a part of the method for the yr ending March 2021
She additionally raised considerations over the long run influence of their knowledge being retained on police databases.
A spokesperson for the Dwelling Workplace stated: ‘Stop is a safeguarding programme serving to individuals to show away from radicalisation. Stop referral knowledge is barely held quickly by the police, and oldsters or carers can request for it to be deleted sooner, the place applicable.
‘All knowledge is saved utterly confidential, aside from the place a severe safety danger emerges. Info and steerage on the usage of, and entry to, the central Stop referral database is owned by the police and never by the Dwelling Workplace.’
A report printed in November discovered extra individuals are being referred to Stop for far-right views than Islamist ones for the primary time.
Out of 4,915 circumstances flagged to the anti-terror programme within the yr ending March, 25 per cent associated to suspected excessive right-wing beliefs and 22 per cent to Islamist ones. The bulk – 51 per cent – had been for people with a ‘blended, unstable or unclear ideology’.
Among the many 688 circumstances deemed essentially the most severe and handed onto Channel – which mentors people to show them away from terrorist causes – 46 per cent involved right-wing terror and 22 per cent Islamism.
An extra 30 per cent fell into the blended or unknown class. That is the third consecutive yr the far-right have made up the vast majority of Channel circumstances.
In October, British politicians had been urged to concentrate on overhauling Stop – somewhat than making an attempt to make sure social media customers face a ban on nameless accounts.
Suppose-tank the Henry Jackson Society claimed Stop had been hijacked by political correctness, skewing it away from the risk posed by Islamists and placing an excessive amount of concentrate on the far-Proper.
Within the wake of Conservative MP Sir David Amess’s deadly stabbing in Essex, critics claimed that police and others who oversee Stop have allowed its work to be swayed by ‘false allegations of Islamophobia’.
The suppose tank stated in a report this week that it was ‘important that the UK shouldn’t be paralysed by political correctness and id politics in terms of holding hardheaded discussions on the prevailing risk of Islamist extremism’.
Is Stop working? Assaults by Islamist terrorists who had been referred to the scheme
READING – June 20, 2020: Khairi Saadallah, 27, fatally stabbed associates James Furlong, 36, Dr David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, in a knife assault at a city centre park. He later admitted the murders and was sentenced to an entire life order in jail. The Studying Refugee Help Group warned Stop officers he might perform a ‘London Bridge-style assault’. Nonetheless, he was discovered to not have a ‘mounted ideology, the Impartial reported.
Studying attacker Khairi Saadallah, 27, (left) was assessed by Stop officers however discovered to have ‘no mounted ideology’, based on studies. Sudesh Amman, who stabbed two individuals in Streatham, south London, final February. Nonetheless, a panel determined his case didn’t require intervention
STREATHAM – February 2, 2020: Sudesh Amman was shot lifeless by police after stabbing two individuals on a busy avenue within the south London space of Streatham whereas sporting a faux suicide vest. He was referred to Stop however the panel determined his case didn’t require intervention.
LONDON BRIDGE – November 29, 2019: Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, had been stabbed to dying by Usman Khan, 28, at a prisoner rehabilitation occasion. A person and two ladies had been additionally injured earlier than Khan, who was launched from jail on licence in December 2018, was shot lifeless by armed officers on the bridge. An inquest heard his Stop officers had ‘no particular coaching’ in dealing with terrorists.
PARSONS GREEN – September 15, 2017: Ahmed Hassan’s selfmade bomb partially exploded on a London Underground rush hour practice, injuring greater than 50 individuals. He was sentenced to life with a minimal jail time period of 34 years. He was referred to Stop 20 months earlier than he planted the bomb.
Usman Khan, 28, (left) who stabbed two younger graduates to dying after a prisoner rehabilitation occasion on London Bridge, had come into contact with Stop officers who had ‘no particular coaching’ in dealing with terrorists, an inquest heard. Parsons Inexperienced bomber Ahmed Hassan was additionally referred to the anti-terror scheme 20 months earlier than he planted a tool on the Tube that injured 50 individuals throughout rush hour in 2017