Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to reduce the risk of extremism within the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not tolerate extremism of any kind and it is not compatible with the values and standards of our Armed Forces. We continue to be vigilant and are determined to take early action to confront and challenge such behaviours when they occur, including ensuring that referrals are made to the appropriate authorities.

The MOD adheres to the Home Office Prevent programme and guidance on how to identify extremist individuals via Joint Service Publication 345, Applying Prevent within Defence. Prevent is briefed to the key unit command posts and all Service personnel via various courses, including through basic training. More information on Prevent can be found on the Government’s counter-terrorism website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance.

Internally, Defence uses the Channel process to deal with Service personnel who have shown signs of extremism. Membership of proscribed organisations is not tolerated and those who have been convicted of offences are unlikely to continue to serve. Information on the Channel process can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/channel-and-prevent-multi-agency-panel-pmap-guidance