(MENAFN- Arab Times) British Prime Minister David Cameron will on Wednesday set out new laws intended to curb organisations and individuals who promote militant ideologies at home and recruit young people to radical islamist groups abroad. The legislation will include powers to restrict the activity of those who seek to radicalise young people and who use inflammatory speech in public places.
Charities will be subject to greater scrutiny to stop funds being diverted to militant organisations, and the broadcast regulator will be given new powers to act against channels showing extremist content. Cameron, who won a surprise majority in national elections last week, is expected to tell a meeting of his top security advisers that new laws will be fast-tracked through parliament in the first year of his government. "Whether they are violent in their means or not, we must make it impossible for the extremists to succeed," Cameron will tell a meeting of his National Security Council, according to extracts released by his office.
The need to tackle radicalism in Britain has been underlined by the flow of hundreds of Britons to join Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria - most notably Kuwaiti-born Londoner Mohammed Emwazi, who has appeared in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages. "For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone," Cameron will say. "This government will conclusively turn the page on this failed approach." Cameron is to say Britain has been "passively tolerant" for too long and will vow to "turn the page on this failed approach," according to his office. The new measures are expected to go further than under the last Cameron-led administration because their former coalition partners, the centrist Liberal Democrats, blocked some measures. The legislation is set to include new banning orders for "extremist organisations" seen as responsible for radicalisations and restrictions on people deemed extremists who seek to enter Britain.
The government will also get powers to close premises "where extremists seek to influence others", and there would be new powers against charities which divert funds towards groups labelled extremist and terrorist. "We will introduce legislation to combat groups and individuals who reject our values and promote messages of hate," Home Secretary Theresa May is to say, according to Cameron's office. The measures were set to be unveiled at the first meeting of the National Security Council under Cameron's new government. The Muslim Council of Britain umbrella group criticised the government's approach to the issue earlier this year, calling for more consultation with Muslim communities. "Rather than relying on a premise of a conveyor belt from conservative and non-violent extremism to violent extremism that lacks credence, a fresh approach is required," its secretary-general Shuja Shafi wrote in March. Cameron Tuesday held the first meeting of his cabinet since last week's surprise election win as he grapples with renegotiating Britain's relationship with the EU before a vote on leaving.
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