UK: Shawcross’s selection for Prevent role criticized

LONDON

The UK government’s appointment of William Shawcross to lead an independent review of the anti-radicalization program, Prevent Strategy, has drawn strong criticism from Muslim groups and communities from across the country.

“It is ironic that a policy supposedly charged with preventing extremism is to be scrutinised by a person who holds hostile views on Islam and Muslims, who has links to people with extreme views on us, and who defends the worst excesses of the so-called ‘war on terror’,” said a statement by Muslim Council of Britain.

“Once again, the government is making it clear it has no interest in truly reviewing the policy. William Shawcross is singularly unfit to be a neutral and fair assessor of this government policy, which has been criticised for unfairly targeting British Muslims, given his frightening views about Islam and Muslims,” the council added.

Shawcross is the former chair of the Charity Commission, a government body that registers and regulates charities in the UK, from 2012 to 2018, and former director of the Henry Jackson Society, a right-wing and neoconservative think tank.

As director of the Henry Jackson Society in 2012, Shawcross said: “Europe and Islam is one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future. I think all European countries have vastly, very quickly growing Islamic populations.”

Under Shawcross’s leadership, the Charity Commission was accused of institutional racism against Muslim communities. The commission also wrongfully accused Muslim charities of using donations to fund extremist groups.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former founding secretary-general of the MCB, said: “The government is putting people with reprehensible attitudes towards Muslims in important places. Prevent is universally detested by the community up and down the country.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel chose Shawcross over former chief crown prosecution Nazir Afzal, who pointed out in a statement on Twitter that the Telegraph had reported Shawcross as a favorite amongst ministers to lead the program a week before the two candidates were interviewed.

In a Twitter post on Tuesday, Afzal pointed out that the Telegraph reported Shawcross is ministers’ favored candidate a week before they were interviewed by ministers, which “doesn’t suggest a fair fight.”

In November last year, the Telegraph reported that Shawcross has emerged as the frontrunner for the government’s anti-radicalization role and that he “is understood to be seen within Government as well qualified for the job of independent reviewer of Prevent.”

During the selection process, Afzal threatened to withdraw his application, arguing his candidacy was meant “to give public impression that it was open selection” but noted that he did not go to the prestigious Eton College and was not good friends with ministers as was Shawcross.

“Independence means a different thing to me. I’m not disheartened.” the former chief crown prosecutor said.

The Prevent Strategy was set up by the government in 2003 to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalized. It forms one of the four branches of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy, also known as CONTEST.

Human rights organizations and civil society groups have accused the program of discrimination against Muslims and erroneously interpreting normal acts of faith as signs and symbols of extremism.