“The government’s anti-terrorism programme, Prevent, is 'outdated and inadequately prepared' to deal with modern challenges such as extremists adhering to no particular ideology”

“The home affairs select committee has called for a reset to the approach for dealing with fast-evolving online subcultures promoting antisemitism, anti-Muslim hostility, misogyny and violence”

“A report released on Wednesday said ministers should veer away from 'a counter-terror mindset' and instead establish a multi-agency strategy to triage referrals to appropriate services”

“A review last year into Prevent and the Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana found the scheme 'prematurely' closed its case into him due to there being no evidence that he had a fixed ideology or motivation”

“A separate Prevent learning review found that Ali Harbi Ali, who murdered Southend West MP Sir David Amess at a constituency surgery in October 2021, was dropped from the scheme too quickly”

“The report said that extremism is driven by algorithms that maximise engagement and profits. 'Now driven by AI, the speed and scale at which content is created has outpaced the ability to moderate and remove it. Smaller platforms lack sufficient regulatory scrutiny and have become hotbeds for the growth of extremism,' it said”

“The Home Office has also allowed Prevent to drift outside its remit, the committee said”

“Trends identified by the 62-page report include: A growing prevalence of under-18s being drawn into extremism”

“Neurodiverse individuals, particularly those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, being over-represented among referrals to the programme”

“Fluid or hybrid ideological beliefs among those referred and a shift toward nihilistic violence”