Total referrals reach record high, with 21% being due to ‘extreme rightwing concerns’ and 10% to Islamist ideology
More suspected far-right extremists were referred to the government’s anti-terrorism programme Prevent last year than those suspected of Islamist extremism, annual figures show.
In total, 8,778 referrals were made because of suspicions of extremist radicalisation in the year to March 2025, 27% more than the previous year and the highest number of referrals in a single year since records began 10 years ago.
Of the 8,769 referrals where the type of concern is specified, 21%, or 1,798 cases, were due to “extreme rightwing concerns”; 10%, or 870, were referrals connected to Islamist ideology; and 56%, or 4,917, were for individuals judged to have no identified ideology.
Five per cent (469) of referrals were due to concerns regarding “fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks (where no other ideology)”. This category recorded a large increase in referrals in the latest quarter, January to March 2025, rising by 240% compared with the previous quarter.
