Prevent has become a complaints desk for the offended. There is now an Islamic blasphemy law in the UK. Prevent, the Government’s own counter-extremism programme, is the latest tool being weaponised to silence politicians and comedians who criticise or mock Islam. Reform UK’s Shadow Chancellor, @RobertJenrick, has been reported to both the Metropolitan Police and Prevent over comments he made about Islam on @danwootton’s Outspoken. Mr Jenrick said that radical Islam is a threat to everything we hold dear in this country and called for the burqa to be banned. He has every right to express those views, as a private citizen and a democratically elected MP in a country that abolished blasphemy laws in 2008. Accusing someone of extremism for expressing perfectly acceptable views wastes and abuses an important mechanism — one that should be dedicated to identifying people at risk of radicalisation and preventing terrorist attacks on our streets. A week before Mr Jenrick was referred to Prevent, the Islamic website 5Pillars reported that comedian and national treasure @JohnCleese had also been referred over his comments about Islam on social media. Prevent should be the last institution of the state to be corrupted by, and kowtow to, activists. But should we be surprised? In 2023, Sir William Shawcross’s independent review of Prevent found a “double standard” in its treatment of the two principal ideologies it addresses. Every hour Prevent spends assessing whether an MP’s television interview is a symptom of radicalisation is an hour not spent assessing people who pose a genuine threat. We know what that can cost: the Southport killer was referred to Prevent three times, and each time his case was closed. Weaponising Prevent does not merely chill speech; it undermines our counter-terrorism efforts and becomes a threat to public and national security in its own right. And it doesn’t stop with Prevent. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has also been weaponised by activists to silence MPs such as @NJ_Timothy, who criticised a mass Muslim prayer event in Trafalgar Square, and @RupertLowe10, who — like Baroness Casey in her report — has highlighted the links between people of Pakistani and Muslim heritage and the grooming-gangs scandal. We must not let an Islamic blasphemy law take root in Britain. Read more from FSU Campaigns Officer @MaxHThompson 👇

Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, a doctor in Britain, has expressed online her support for the execution in Saudi Arabia of a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant who criticised Islam. On X, Dr Aladwan wrote: “We do not accept insults to any of our beloved prophets from Adam to Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Peace be upon them all. Well done Saudi Arabia.” Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy has written to the General Medical Council calling for her to be struck off. The irony is that Dr Aladwan describes herself as a supporter of free speech in her X bio, while backing the execution of a young man for criticising Islam. Blasphemy laws are incompatible with a society that truly values free speech. Parliament voted to abolish them in this country 18 years ago. The Islamophobia definition introduced by the Labour Government through the back door is rapidly becoming a British de facto Islamic blasphemy law, weaponised by activists and extremists to silence legitimate criticism and debate about Islam. We must not let it take root.