New law needed to take on far-right extremism, says Blair thinktank
A new law allowing for hate groups to be designated and punished before they turn to violence is needed in order to tackle far-right extremists, according to a report by Tony Blair’s thinktank, which also seeks powers to ban marches and media appearances.
Generation Identity, a racist movement that promotes a conspiracy theory that white people are being replaced by non-whites in Europe, would be among the groups targeted by new legislation, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change report said.
The law could sit alongside proscription powers, banning groups concerned with terrorism, but would not be directly linked to violence or terrorism. Rather, it would designate hate groups as organisations that spread intolerance and antipathy towards people of a different race, religion, gender or nationality, the report said.
Writing in a foreword, the former home secretary Jacqui Smith, the chair of the Jo Cox Foundation, said: “The growth of far-right extremist groups and the threat they pose cannot be left on the ‘too difficult’ pile.
“While ad hoc action has been taken against some groups and the intelligence services are now prioritising the monitoring of far-right terrorists, we need to return to the vexed problem of how to identify the link between violent and nonviolent extremism, and develop a coherent policy approach to tackling the threat of far-right groups.”
The government, public agencies and security services have taken steps to tackle far-right violence, but action against nonviolent activity has been limited and uncoordinated.
In its report, Narratives of Hate: The Spectrum of Far-Right Worldviews in the UK, the thinktank found that public messages from the four activist groups in the UK had shared themes with the world view of Breivik. Victimisation, fundamental conflict between the west and Islam, anti-establishment sentiment and the justification of violence were all found in social media statements by the four UK groups and in statements by Breivik.
Generation Identity and the BNP shared identical world views with Breivik on the theme of victimisation, including ideas of “white genocide” and “the great replacement” theory.
The ban, which covers three National Action splinter groups, has resulted in several former members being put on trial. To date, National Action is the only far-right group outlawed in the UK.
The Tony Blair Institute has called for a working definition of extremism, which could be used as a tool by government, law enforcement and institutions to tackle individuals and groups that spread hateful ideas but fall short of advocating violence.
It is also calling for further efforts to curb far-right hate online, including working with social media companies to define the limits of acceptable content.
