UK government has no plans to broaden definition of extremism, says minister

The British government does not have any plans to broaden the definition of extremism, the country’s Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said on Tuesday.

Jarvis’ clarification in Parliament came after reports that the UK government could expand the definition of extremism to cover “Hindu nationalist extremism” and “pro-Khalistan extremism”.

Parts of a report commissioned by the ministry were leaked to London-based think tank Policy Exchange.

On Tuesday, the minister of state for security said that Islamist extremism, followed by extremism by the Far Right, were the biggest threats faced by the United Kingdom.

However, he said, the July attack in Southport had highlighted a need for “action on those drawn towards mixed ideologies and violence-obsessed young people”.

The leaked document is not current or new government policy, Jarvis said.

The home office is responsible for immigration, internal security and policing in England and Wales.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, upon assuming office in July, had commissioned a review of the country’s approach to tackling extremism. Ministry officials were tasked with formulating a fresh counter-extremism strategy that would address online and offline threats from Islamists, the Far Right groups and other types of extremism.

The review was sped up in the aftermath of the murder of three children in Southport and the subsequent riots across the United Kingdom…

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