Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle online radicalisation in Northern Ireland; and whether she plans to introduce region-specific counter-extremism initiatives.

This Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that divide communities and inflame tensions across the entirety of the UK.

Alongside the Online Safety Act, the Home Office encourages industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.

We also work closely with like-minded international partners both bilaterally and through multilateral fora such as the Global internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align policies where possible.

In addition, Youth Diversion Orders (YDOs) are being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide a new counter-terrorism tool for police to manage the risks posed by young people involved in terrorism-related activity, including online. The new legislation will apply across the whole of the UK.