Tufyal will analyse how UK counter-terrorism has expanded to address extreme violence that falls outside established definitions of terrorism. Focusing on the 2024 Southport killings, it examines the Prevent programme’s shift from targeting ideological extremism to managing individuals characterised by fragmented beliefs, personal grievance, or fascination with violence. Drawing on Prevent referral data and recent policy reviews, the paper shows how Prevent’s categories have proliferated, with non-ideological cases now forming the majority of referrals. It analyses competing responses to this shift, ranging from calls to refocus on Islamist extremism to proposals for further expansion of Prevent to cover these cases and re-configuration of Prevent into a non-CT locally-led approach to safeguarding against violence-related risks. The paper argues that Prevent’s evolution exposes enduring tensions in counter-terrorism and the meaning of terrorism itself.
Speaker
Tufyal Choudhury is an Associate Professor at Durham University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, where he led research for the Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy, and Practice, chaired by the Rt Hon Sir Declan Morgan KC PC.