Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of, and what action they have taken in response to, the review by Sir John Jenkins into the philosophy and values of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its alleged connection with extremists and violence.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Our assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood remains as set out in the summary report published in December 2015, which concluded the movement is a secretive organisation and that parts of it – globally – have a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism. The UK Government continues to stand by the judgments of the review.
The Government keeps under review the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities and views when appropriate to ensure our position is based on the latest information available and we will consider action in accordance with the five commitments included in the former Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament, if and where legal thresholds are met.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 2 June (HL7951), what action they have taken against (1) groups, or (2) individuals, of Islamist extremist concern; when they took that action; and what was the outcome.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Some groups publicly demonstrate behaviours that oppose the values and principles that underpin our society. The Government is committed to tackling those who spread Islamist views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society. This includes using existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of ideologies that can lead to community division.
We assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives.
We work with local, regional and national partners, including with policing, to reduce the impact of these groups in communities and limit their influence as a potential driver for radicalisation. We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to increase our understanding of new and emerging radicalising threats to society. Any violent threat is assessed and managed by the police and security services based on the threat that it is deemed to pose.
The Home Office avoids publicly commenting on whether or not specific groups or individuals are of Islamist extremist concern, as this could have a detrimental effect on our ability to take future action against them.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for Immigration in answer to Stephen Farry on 29 March (HC Deb col 1033), whether they have adopted a common definition of "far-right"; and if so, what it is.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism defines Far Right as “an umbrella term to encapsulate the entire movement which has a Far-Right political outlook in relation to matters such as culture, race, immigration and identity”. The Home Office uses the definition as set out by the ISC in this report.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on freedom of speech of paragraph 3.10 of the Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing issued in February.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We have not made an assessment of the impact on freedom of speech of paragraph 3.10 of the Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. This paragraph sets out some of the factors to be considered by police forces when assessing the suitability of an individual to be granted a firearms certificate.
The Statutory Guidance was issued for the first time on 1 November 2021. Following a review undertaken by the Home Office after its first year of operation, a refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was issued on 14 February 2023. There were no changes made to this particular paragraph. The factors highlighted in this paragraph are also based on earlier versions of the chapter on assessing suitability that appeared in the non-statutory Home Office guides. We will continue to keep the Statutory Guidance under review.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 16 May (HL7538 and HL7539), what action they have taken against (1) groups, or (2) individuals, of extremist concern; when they took that action; and what was the outcome.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Some groups publicly demonstrate behaviours that oppose the values and principles that underpin our society. The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society. This includes using existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of ideologies that can lead to community division.
We assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. We work with local, regional and national partners, including with policing, to reduce the impact of these groups in communities and limit their influence as a potential driver for radicalisation.
We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to increase our understanding of new and emerging radicalising threats to society. Any violent threat is assessed and managed by the police and security services based on the threat that it is deemed to pose.
The Home Office avoids publicly commenting on whether or not specific groups or individuals are of extremist concern, as this could have a detrimental effect on our ability to take future action against them.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of Hope Not Hate and any association that group may have with far-left extremist groups.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism.
We do assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. This relates to all ideologies, including those that fall under the LASI (Left-Wing, Anarchist & Single Issue) banner. We continue to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to increase our understanding of new and emerging threats to society.
The Home Office avoids publicly commenting on whether or not specific groups or individuals are of extremist concern, as this could have a detrimental effect on our ability to take future action against them.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any representatives from Government departments have met with Hope Not Hate; if so, on what dates; and what was the content and outcome of their discussions.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Representatives from the Home Office have met with members of Hope Not Hate on a small number of occasions in the past year, as part of engagement with wider partners on asylum and migration and responding to protest activity.
The Home Office is free to decide who and which organisations it meets with as long as the organisation in question does not act unlawfully. Decisions on individual meetings are taken on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis the Home Secretary has associated the phenomenon of grooming gangs with ethnicity rather than with religion.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We know that child sexual exploitation is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion. The vast majority of British-Pakistanis are law-abiding, upstanding citizens and the Home Secretary's comments relate to the findings of local reviews into child sexual exploitation cases in Rotherham, Telford and Rochdale, which described the perpetrators in those cases as overwhelmingly British-Pakistani men.
The 2020 Home Office report on Group based Child Sexual Exploitation set out the best evidence on ethnicity, age, offender networks, the context in which these crimes are committed and implications for national and local policy. As noted within the report, beyond those specific high-profile cases, the academic literature highlights significant limitations to what can be said about links between ethnicity and group-based child sexual exploitation.
It is essential for police and local authorities to have a good understanding of offender characteristics and the drivers of child sexual exploitation in their areas, so that they can uncover and tackle offending effectively. That is why the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced a number of steps to improve our data on, and our response to, group-based child sexual exploitation, including a new Taskforce, regional analysts in every police region, a new Complex and Organised Child Abuse Database hosted by the Taskforce and the roll out of the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme, which brings together force-level, regional, and national data and intelligence.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 27 July 2021 (HL1972), whether the Batley Grammar School teacher and his family are still receiving police protection following him showing a picture of the Prophet Mohammed to a class of school children; if so, how much longer they expect to need to provide that protection; how many arrests have been made in connection with the threats received by that individual and his family; and what were the consequences of those arrests.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government remains steadfast in our commitment to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society and must always stand up to those who seek to undermine our fundamental values.
The Home Office does not hold information on police protection, or number of arrests made by West Yorkshire Police in relation to this case. This is a matter for West Yorkshire Police, which is operationally independent of Government.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the arrest of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce by police in Birmingham in December; and what steps they intend to take to ensure that the rights of (1) freedom of religion, and (2) freedom of thought, are upheld.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government supports Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that provides everyone with a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The imposition of Public Space Prevention Orders is a matter for the local authorities who are required to consider European Convention rights, including Article 8 that provides a right to respect private and family life. Operational matters and charging are matters for the police.