A three-year-old child from London is one of hundreds of young people in the capital who have been referred to the UK Government’s de-radicalisation “Channel” programme.
According to the London Evening Standard, 1,069 people have been put in the government’s Channel programme, which is at the heart of the Government’s “Prevent” strategy.
The three-year-old in the programme is from the borough of Tower Hamlets, and was a member of a family group that had been showing “suspicion” behaviour.
Many of the government’s counter-extremism measures usually relate to older children and adults – but very young children have been referred when authorities are “concerned” about the effect of their families on them.
In the past, police have gone through the family courts to bring care proceedings in cases involving these children, and measures have included taking away the children’s passports, to make it harder for them to be taken overseas.
With figures obtained from the London Assembly, the Standard found out that London accounted for around a quarter of all ‘Channel’ referrals nationwide since the start of 2012.
Since September 2014, 400 under 18s, including teenagers and children, have been referred to the scheme.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
