Early Day Motion calling to “scrap the PREVENT strategy in its entirety” a welcome contrast to efforts to rebrand the discredited policy

London – An Early Day Motion was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael this morning calling to “scrap the Prevent strategy in its entirety”, saying the “strategy is no longer fit for purpose”. CAGE is pleased to see this serious call to abolish PREVENT being brought to parliament, contrary to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recommendation to ‘rebrand’ it. CAGE began the public call for PREVENT to be scrapped with a letter published in the Independent and signed by over 300 academics and civil society members. This call has gathered support from across many sectors, including the targeted communities, and now in part from prominent MPs. Ibrahim Mohamoud, spokesperson for CAGE, said: “Mr Carmichael’s motion calling for a debate should be welcomed by all. PREVENT has been criticised for lack of transparency and its potential to impact free speech and discussion, from many sectors. Since 2011, CAGE has been consistently cautioning against the overreach of PREVENT. There’s no place for PREVENT, or any of its manifestation in a fair and open society.” “There should be no attempt to pressure the most impacted communities into bearing the responsibility of solving a very serious problem, which they have not created. In order to continue playing its positive role in society, the Muslim community, like any other, must be able to retain its integrity.” “What is needed, more than anything else, is for decision-makers to reflect and acknowledge the negative impact of some policies, at home and abroad, on national security.”     (CC Image courtesy of Liberal Democrats on Flickr)