England’s children’s commissioner says Prevent failing to help young people ‘fixated with violence’
Summary
The children’s commissioner for England says the UK government’s anti-terror programme, Prevent, is not helping some children who are focused on violence but do not follow clear extremist ideas. The commissioner says many children need more support than Prevent can offer, especially those showing violent behavior without an obvious ideology.Key Facts
- Referrals of children to Prevent increased from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25.
- Axel Rudakubana, who attacked people in Southport in July 2024, was referred to Prevent three times but his case was closed due to no clear extremist beliefs.
- About 71% of child referrals to Prevent involved children without clear extremist ideologies, often linked to violent content online.
- Nearly 79% of child referrals to Prevent between April 2024 and March 2025 were closed without further action.
- Almost 60% of referrals came from schools, but 65% of these were sent back to schools after closing, with 93% not moving forward in Prevent.
- The commissioner recommended that children showing violent fixations or risk of terrorism be referred to local authority safeguarding teams alongside Prevent.
- The government said Prevent has helped over 6,000 people move away from violent ideas since 2015 and is reviewing the report and Southport inquiry findings.
- The commissioner wants a system where local teams can decide the best help for each child, with early support from counter-terror police if needed.
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