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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Jamie Grierson

England’s children’s commissioner says Prevent failing to help young people ‘fixated with violence’

Rachel de Souza
De Souza’s report recommended that anti-terror police should work more closely with local authority safeguarding teams. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

The children’s commissioner for England has warned of a group of children “intoxicated by extremism” who need help the UK government’s anti-terror programme cannot provide.

Referrals to Prevent – the programme designed to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalised or drawn into extremism – involving children have risen in the past decade, from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25.

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