Corporate report

Commission for Countering Extremism end of year report 2024 to 2025 (accessible)

Published 30 April 2025

Commissioner’s foreword

This End of Year Report marks my final as Commissioner for Countering Extremism. While the threat from extremism is as stark ever, the CCE has helped ensure that government is better placed than ever to respond.

The invaluable role the CCE plays was outlined in the most recent iteration of CONTEST, the government’s counterterrorism strategy: “The Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) provides the government with impartial, expert advice and scrutiny on the tools, policies and approaches needed to tackle extremism.

The CCE has become the government’s independent ‘centre of excellence’ on counter-extremism, and its work will continue to inform policymaking.” This approach was also spelled out in Prevent and Channel Duty Guidance.

As I wind down my time as the government’s independent adviser on extremism, I wanted to highlight these areas of particular pride.

Firstly, the CCE’s independent voice is being heard in the daily decision making of government. The CCE is now ‘in the room’ and on a footing where it can respond immediately to any counter extremism challenge government may face with independent advice and expertise. Whether it is responding to Home Office requests regarding extremists travelling to the UK; giving advice on due diligence, engagement and funding decisions; scrutinising extremist threat assessments, or so much more, the CCE is offering daily, independent advice on the minutiae of policy. This was my vision for the CCE, and I am pleased it has come to pass.

Secondly, training. It is my view that you cannot understand extremism without understanding ideology. Yet personnel is policy; and unless those implementing counter extremism policy are also persuaded of ideology’s relevance then there will remain a disconnect between central government, local authorities and other elements of the Prevent and counter extremism system.

The CCE’s training up and down the country has helped ensure that message is now understood loud and clear across government.

This year we delivered another 25 sessions of training on various extremist ideologies with hundreds of professionals across different government settings. We also awarded over 100 Higher Education Learning certificate courses on extremism in conjunction with King’s College London, giving civil servants the knowledge they need to understand extremism today.

Our training products showcase the very best expertise and insights which the CCE have come to be known for and have quickly developed a reputation for quality across government, with even ministers enquiring if they could enrol.

Thirdly, offering independent oversight of Prevent via our Standards and Compliance Unit (StaCU), which since its launch last year has processed and investigated a wide variety of complaints and concerns.

Given the increasing scrutiny around Prevent, building or retaining public trust and confidence is essential to its success. StaCU’s first annual report will be published imminently and will outline just some of the details of the difference StaCU is beginning to make to Prevent delivery.

Fourth, shifting the Overton window on extremism. Our ‘Rethinking Extremism’ research package saw the publication of academic papers on the state of extremism studies, the threat posed by inceldom, the robustness of the evidence base on radicalisation and deradicalisation, and blasphemy-linked terrorism and extremism. Most recently, we published what in my view is the most definitive academic work yet on how and why ideology plays an indispensable role in understanding acts of terrorism.

All of the above work has gone against the prevailing zeitgeist in some form or other. All invite the reader to reconsider certain basics around the fields of study in question. All, however, are also now essential to a serious consideration of how to grip extremism in all its forms today.

In support of the research, our regular conferences have hosted government and its partners, academia and the wider Civil Service and served as a forum to bring some of the most credible, knowledgeable and respected voices together in one place. Giving decision-makers the opportunity to have difficult conversations that can lead to practical, policy-ready outcomes is vital in ensuring that extremists do not set the terms of the conversation. We must contest that ground at every opportunity and CCE has constantly sought to create the space for both government and wider society to do so.

As I step down at the end of my term, I am pleased to see that the government has recognised the need for ongoing independent advice and scrutiny on extremism.

The vital need to tackle political violence and disruption will also now be added to the Commissioner’s portfolio.

Clearly, my successor has a daunting task but crucial one. However, their successes can help our country make headway in the civilisational challenge posed by extremism.

Fewer tasks are more vital for our democracy.

Robin Simcox

Commissioner for Countering Extremism

Any attempt to defeat extremism in this country – wherever it emerges and whatever its guiding ideology – has to involve proactively and decisively disrupting the activities of groups that create a permissive environment for violent acts.

Robin Simcox, Commissioner for Countering Extremism

Activities over the last 12 months

The CCE continues to engage widely. A select list of the commissioner’s engagements between April 2024 and March 2025 can be found in Annex B.

In April 2024, Robin was the subject of a profile piece in the New Statesman. He discussed all forms of extremism and emphasised that the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel meant that the “extremism challenges this country faces have been amplified”.

In May, he was interviewed by Andrew Marr on law breaking by Just Stop Oil activists, where he emphasised that, “we make decisions in this country based on parliamentary democracy. We do not do it by threats or intimidation.”

In October, Robin visited the Scottish Government to learn and understand more about the challenges Scotland faces from extremism, and the differences in approach the government takes in response.

I want to express my gratitude to the staff at the Commission for Countering Extremism for all your work in this complex and important area. In particular, I want to thank Robin for the dedication, independent insight and invaluable expertise you have provided in your time as commissioner. Your contribution has been instrumental in ensuring we are able to formulate robust policy to tackle extremism.

Dan Jarvis MP, Security Minister

In November, the CCE hosted a high-level policy roundtable event on the future of extremism. The roundtable event brought together a broad range of government stakeholders, academics, experts, local government practitioners, and civil society organisations.

In January 2025, Robin travelled to Southport to meet with local government, police and community groups to understand more about how the area was recovering from the acts of violence, disorder and riots of the previous summer.

The CCE held its third Policy Week in March 2025 for civil servants. The week-long agenda included an analysis of the extremist narratives surrounding the Southport attack, a panel discussion on the current state of eco-extremism and an exploration of the future of AI in the extremism landscape. Policy Week was attended by over 650 people across 24 different departments.

The CCE’s Academic and Practitioner Counter Extremism Network (APCEN) held four events: in June, September, and December 2024; and March 2025. APCEN saw keynote presentations about the role of ideology in driving extremism, anti-migrant protests and the threat from the Extreme Right, radicalisation pathways in higher education, and extremists’ use of Speakers’ Corner.

Ideology training

Recommendation 22 of the Independent Review of Prevent proposed the development of “…a new training and induction package for all government and public sector staff working in counter-extremism and counter-terrorism.”

This training would focus on improving understanding of the ideological nature of terrorism, including:

• worldviews

• objectives and methodologies of violent and non-violent extremist groups

• grievance narratives and issues exploited by terrorist recruiters and extremists

Government subsequently tasked the CCE with advising on the ideology content of new Prevent training products and developing ideology training, identifying gaps and making recommendations for government to consider.

As part of our commitment to implementing recommendation 22, the CCE has produced and delivered a number of varied training packages covering Islamist Extremism, Extreme Right-Wing, Antisemitism and Unclear or Conflicting Ideologies.

The training we have delivered includes:

• Understanding and Countering Extremism in the UK, With King’s College London – an accredited course

• 2-day Ideology Training

• 1-day Ideology Training

Our training has reached 27 government departments, and we have trained a total of 940 practitioners to date.

Standards and Compliance Unit

In the 2024 to 2025 period, StaCU received 56 complaints. For more information on StaCU complaints, please refer to the upcoming StaCU 2024/25 annual report.

Subject Matter Experts

The Commission has continued to work alongside our four subject matter experts.

These experts have extensive knowledge in Islamism, Extreme Right Wing and Antisemitism, and have links to various think tanks, charities and networks within the counter-extremism field to support our workstreams. Their time at the Commission allowed them to directly scrutinise and advise government through the following routes:

• Authoring research into a series of topics that has included entryism, the Extreme Right Wing landscape, extremist sentiments aired in religious institutions, and anti-Muslim hatred.

• Contributions to internal, official sensitive assessments to help inform the Commissioner of emerging CE risks and challenges;

• Delivering and contributing to our extensive training program;

• Providing insights for government partners upon request.

Future Research

We are delighted to be nearing publication on two new research products.

Both will be published as part of a newly launched ‘Countering Extremism, Defending Free Speech’ workstream and are scheduled for release in the coming months.

As an arm’s length body of the Home Office, our budget and spending are negotiated with the Home Office. They are subject to Home Office finance policy and HM Treasury rules, including value for public money, and follow systems and processes for HR and procurement. The CCE’s budget allocation and expenditure for 2024 to 2025 is in Annex A.

Ideology is at the heart of terrorism, says extremism tsar

A study of 100 of the UK’s worst terrorists warns against widening the definition to encompass attackers who act for the sake of violence.

Highlights from the last 12 months

April 2024

• Robin was interviewed by the New Statesman on the post October 7th extremism landscape.

May 2024

• Robin was interviewed by Andrew Marr on LBC on topics that included eco-activists’ proximity to extremism.

• Robin met with the Charity Commission to provide advice and support with tackling extremism within the charitable sector.

June 2024

• Robin met with Jonathan Hall to discuss misogyny, the manosphere and its links to extremism.

August 2024

• Robin met with the Security Minister, Dan Jarvis MP, to discuss the CCE’s work and provide an overview of the extremist threat to the UK.

• Robin provided an exclusive interview to Newsnight to discuss the Extreme Right-Wing in the wake of rioting and disorder in Southport.

September 2024

• The CCE held its first StaCu Partners Day event.

October 2024

• Robin visited the Scottish Government on a knowledge gathering trip to understand the Scottish approach to counter-extremism and social cohesion.

November 2024

• The CCE hosted a Policy Dialogue event on the future of extremism.

December 2024

• Robin met with the White House to discuss transatlantic extremism challenges.

• The CCE ran its biannual Higher Education Course with King’s College London to deliver learning to government practitioners on countering extremism.

2025

January 2025

• Robin met with Karen Bradley MP, the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

• Robin travelled to Southport to meet with the local authority, community representatives and the police to discuss the challenges they faced in the wake of the previous summer’s incidents.

February 2025

• The CCE hosted a Policy Dialogue event on Countering Extremism and Wider Harms.

March 2025

• The CCE held its annual Policy Week for civil servants, bringing together experts and academics to dissect issues at the forefront of counter-extremism.

Annex A – finances (2024/25)

The Commission’s budget for financial year 2024/25 is £1,661,960 per annum. This is in line with HM Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money (the consent for our expenditure was based on HM Treasury consent under the guidance in Box 2.6) and agreement from the Home Office.

The Financial end of year spend for 2024/25 is £1,751,930. This includes a £89,970 overspend due to an increase to the Home Office staff pay award.

Total budget	£1,661,960
Expenditure up to March 2025	£1,751,930
Pay	£1,202,181
Non-Pay (Includes: IT & Accommodation, CCE projects, Staff Learning and Development, and Staff Travel and Subsistence)	£549,749
Commission’s spend end of March (pay and non-pay)	£1,751,930
Overspend	£89,970
Financial end of year spend 2024/25	£1,751,930

Robin Simcox claimed £546.00 in expenses from April 2024 to the end of February 2025.

Annex B – commissioner engagement (April 2024 to March 2025)

To respect data protection requirements, organisations’ names are listed rather than individuals, except in the case of politicians and academics.

The Commissioner’s engagement includes one-to-one meetings, workshops, conferences and group discussions.

Central government, regulators and law enforcement

• Home Office

• Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government

• No. 10 Downing Street

• Department for Education

• Home Affairs Select Committee

• Police Scotland

• Scottish Government

• Charity Commission

• Merseyside Police

• Sefton Local Authority

Parliamentarians

• Dan Jarvis MP (as Security Minister)

• Stephen Morgan MP (as Minister for Early Education)

• Dame Karen Bradley MP (as Home Affairs Select Committee Chair)

• Lord Carlile of Berriew (former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation)

• Lord Goodman

• Lord Anderson (Interim Prevent Commissioner)

• Lord Walney

Academics, experts and thinktanks

• Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews

• Counter Extremism Group

• Counter Extremism Project

• Policy Exchange

International

• French Embassy, London

• The White House

• Combating Terrorism Center at West Point