Britain U-turns on broadening its interpretation of extremism

Following leaked reports regarding expanding extremism to cover misogyny and other behaviors, including environmentalist activism, Britain's Home Office has announced there will be no change to the current definition.

Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said Islamist extremism followed by far right extremism were the biggest threats to the country though he did add that the murder of three small girls in Southport last summer indicated there was a need for "action on those drawn towards mixed ideologies and violence-obsessed young people".

Back in August, Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that there had been a rise in extremism “both online and on our streets” that “frays the very fabric of our communities and our democracy,” the BBC reported.

The Home Office then set about reviewing how to tackle extremism in all its shapes and forms, both on and offline in a bid to devise a more fit-for-purpose counter-extremism strategy for the country.

To assess the impact of extreme ideologies on young people, both Islamist and far-right extremism were analyzed alongside misogyny and other destructive doctrines.

The review also looked at why young people are radicalized and how that plays out. According to the BBC, Yvette Cooper said the strategy would “map and monitor extremist trends” in an effort to disrupt them and reduce audiences.

The leaked report is adamant that the definition of extremism should be broadened to cover, alongside Islamists and extreme right-wing: extreme misogyny; pro-Khalistan extremism, advocating for an independent Sikh state; Hindu nationalist extremism; environmental extremism; left-wing, anarchist and single-issue extremism (LASI); violence fascination; conspiracy theories.

But Jarvis made it clear that the report does not represent government policy. In private, it seems the report has gone down like a lead balloon with the government, despite being put together by government officials.

In cases where radicalization is suspected, teachers, healthcare professionals and local authority staff are already legally obliged to report them to Prevent, a government program to tackle extremism.

The government’s move to expand the definition came in the wake of the far-right riots that terrorized minorities across the UK early August. But police and former government advisers have been issuing warnings on dangerous online material for the past 10 years.

Self-proclaimed misogynist and British-American kickboxer Andrew Tate, who is often seen driving fast cars and toting guns, would have been among those targeted had reeling in online misogyny become a thing.

Facing charges of physical abuse and trafficking in Romania, Tate talks about hitting and choking women, trashing their belongings and stopping them from going out.

In a YouTube video, the influencer who boasts 9.9 million followers on X, has described women as “intrinsically lazy” and said there was “no such thing as an independent female.” He also said, “There’s no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist.”

Presenting a police report on the rising violence against women and girls, police chief Maggie Blyth said: “We know that some of this is also linked to radicalization of young people online,” according to the BBC.

She added, “We know the influencers – Andrew Tate – the element of influencing of particularly boys, is quite terrifying.” A YouGov poll found that 23 per cent of boys aged 13 to 15 viewed Tate in a positive light.

The police report on the issue stated that they were working with counter-terrorism teams to combat the risks of young men being radicalized in this way.

Far-right Reform UK boss and MP Nigel Farage has called Tate an “important voice” for the “emasculated” and giving boys “perhaps a bit of confidence at school” on the Strike It Big podcast.

Tate is now banned from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, but not from X whose owner Elon Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist.”

Andrew Tate hit back at the UK government’s potential crackdown on misogyny on Elon Musk’s platform, saying: “You’re only allowed to be male if you’re a f****t.”

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Photo: screen shot from Andrew Tate X account