Michael Gove names 5 organisations that might be blacklisted for extremism
Michael Gove has named 5 organisations he says might be added to a Government blacklist for extremists.
The Communities Secretary advised MPs that three Muslim-led teams and two neo-nazi organisations might face motion. He advised MPs that the Muslim Association of Britain, Cage and Mend, in addition to the far-right British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative, will probably be examined.
The Tory frontbencher confronted a barrage of questions over whether or not Tory donor Frank Hester, who stated Diane Abbott “should be shot” met the factors for extremism. Critics accused him of whipping up division and clamping down on free speech.
Mr Gove stated organisations who meet a brand new Government definition of extremism will probably be barred from receiving public funds and interacting with authorities departments.
He advised the Commons: “Organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain, which is the British affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other groups such as Cage and Mend (Muslim Engagement and Development) give rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and views. We will be holding these and other organisations to account to assess if they meet our definition of extremism and will take action as appropriate.”
Mr Gove then named two far-right teams, stating: “I’m sure that we would agree that organisations such as the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative who promote neo-Nazi ideology, argue for forced repatriation, a white ethno-state and the targeting of minority groups for intimidation, are precisely the type of groups about which we should be concerned and whose activities we will assess against the new definition.”
Under the brand new definitions, extremists will probably be classed as those that destroy the liberty of others, attempt to change parliamentary democracy and deliberately create a ‘permissive’ surroundings for others to do that. The announcement follows an alarming rise in hate crimes for the reason that Hamas assaults on Israel on October 7 and the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
The Muslim Association of Britain branded the definition “an egregious assault on civil liberties.” And in a joint assertion with eight different organisations, CAGE International stated: “His (Mr Gove’s) announcement is a continuation of the decades-long strategy aimed at inciting and exploiting fears against Muslims to build an authoritarian and repressive infrastructure that suppresses any dissent that is not licensed by Whitehall.”
SNP house affairs spokeswoman Alison Thewliss lashed out on the Tories, claiming an increase in extremism was “stoked” by the social gathering. She stated: “As we have also heard this week, racism and misogyny by funders of the party of government, can I ask (Mr Gove) if he considers that racism and misogyny meet his definition of extremism, and if he believes that the statement by Frank Hester of Diane Abbott – ‘you want to hate all black women because she’s there, I think she should be shot’ – would meet his definition of extremism?”
Mr Gove replied: “(Frank Hester’s) comments were clearly racist and regrettable, and speaking as someone who was himself targeted by an extremist who was attempting to kill me and then went on to murder a colleague and friend in this House, I take that sort of language incredibly seriously.”
Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams Advisory Board, warned a brand new definition of extremism might be “applied subjectively” and “create huge division in our society”. Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, stated: “This unnecessary and unacceptable new definition is little more than the government’s latest attempt to silence criticism and impede our democratic freedoms- like freedom of speech and the right to assembly.”
