The UK Will No Longer Tolerate Extremism, Says Home Secretary Theresa May
The Home Secretary has today told extremists that the “game is up” when unveiling the Tory manifesto on tackling extremism, particularly Islamist extremism, within the country.
Theresa May has outlined the future Conservative government’s plans for a crackdown on extremism, touching on issues of Sharia law courts, hate preachers, extremist groups, immigration and honour crimes.
The MP for Maidenhead has said that the government will conduct an independent review into Sharia law courts operating in the UK, particularly looking at their discrimination against women.
The new counter-extremist policy is aimed at tackling home-grown terrorists by targeting radical preachers and will allow radical individuals to be barred from working unsupervised with children following fears that young Muslims are being brainwashed into embracing extremist views.
She has said that councils will be ordered to “take steps to ensure the safeguarding of children in hithero unregulated places”, such as tuition centres, and has also introduced “banning orders” for extremist groups, which would make it a criminal offence for individuals to be part of or fund raise for groups which spread or promote hatred.
The manifesto is also proposing an alteration in the rules governing citizenship grants to foreigners to ensure that people seeking residency in the country will embrace the British values, stating that the country’s national values will be “an integral part of applying for a visa” which even visitors will have to act in compliance with.
In a speech in London, Mrs May said that a “small but significant” number of people in Britain are attempting to undermine the nation’s values and create a “clash of civilisations” in the country and has called on “every single person in Britain” to celebrate British values and defeat ignorance. She has invited all moderate British Muslims to join in partnership with her and the government to expose the “hatred, bigotry and ignorance” of these extremists who challenge and pose a threat to democracy, equality and free speech.
Mrs May has said: “Extremism is not something that can just be ignored. It cannot be wished away. It must be tackled head on. Because where extremism takes root the consequences are clear. Women’s rights are eroded. There is discrimination on the basis of race and sexuality.
“There is no longer equal access to the labour market, to the law, or to wider society. Communities become segregated and cut off from one another. Intolerance, hatred and bigotry become normalised. Trust is replaced by fear, reciprocity by envy, and solidarity by division.
“Where they seek to divide us, our values are what unite us. Where they seek to dictate, lecture and limit opportunity, our values offer young people hope and the chance to succeed. The extremists have no vision for Britain that can sustain the dreams and ambitions of its people. Theirs is a negative, depressing and in fact absurd view of the world – and it is one we know that in the end we can expose and defeat.”
She added: “To those people who do not want to join this new partnership, to those who choose consciously to reject our values and the basic principles of our society, the message is equally clear. The game is up.
“We will no longer tolerate your behaviour. We will expose your hateful beliefs for what they are. Where you seek to spread hate, we will disrupt you. Where you break the law, we will prosecute you. Where you seek to divide us, we will stand united. And together, we will defeat you.”
