Searchlight has argued before that the threat from far-right extremism in the UK now outstrips that coming from radical Islamists. Latest Home Office figures from the Prevent programme support that view.
They reveal that the number of individuals referred to the programme for concerns over far-right extremism is more than double those flagged for Islamist radicalisation.
In the year to March 2025, 1,798 people were referred to Prevent over suspected extreme right-wing views – more than twice the 870 referrals linked to Islamist extremism.
Mainstreaming white nationalism
The total number of Prevent referrals reached 8,778, the highest since records began in 2015 and a 27% increase on the previous year.
While the largest share – 56% – still involved individuals with no clear ideological affiliation, the rise in far-right referrals reflects growing concern among counter-terrorism officials about the mainstreaming of white nationalist and accelerationist ideologies, particularly among young people.
Children aged 11 to 15 made up the largest age group referred, accounting for 36% of all cases.
Education sector
The education sector remained the primary source of referrals, followed by police and local authorities. Notably, 345 referrals involved children aged 10 or under.
The data follow the case of Axel Rudakubana, the 19-year-old responsible for the Southport dance studio murders in July 2024. Rudakubana had been referred to Prevent three times but was not escalated for further intervention, reportedly due to the absence of a clearly defined ideology.
Violent tendencies
The case has since prompted a review of how Prevent handles individuals with violent tendencies but ambiguous ideological leanings.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the UK’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, said the figures “reflect the evolving nature of the threat,” adding that far-right ideologies are increasingly “intertwined with online subcultures, misogyny, and conspiracy theories.”
