Letter from the Security Minister to the Interim Independent Prevent Commissioner (accessible)
Published 10 April 2026
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Dan Jarvis MBE MP
Security Minister
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
The Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE KC
Brick Court Chambers
7-8 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3LD
10 April 2026
Dear David,
I wanted to write to you personally to thank you for your letter earlier this month and for the invaluable contribution you have made as Independent Prevent Commissioner.
Your willingness to provide constructive challenge, in support of the Home Office’s efforts to counter terrorism, has been very greatly appreciated and much needed at a time of increasingly complex threats.
Throughout you have approached the role with real vigour, creating momentum for the Home Office to examine a wide range of Prevent issues, from data retention to referral quality and police‑led partnerships. Your seriousness of purpose has also reshaped the former StaCU, ensuring the complaints function focusses squarely on the most pertinent concerns about Prevent.
In particular, I would like to thank you for your report ‘Lessons for Prevent’, which has made a very significant contribution to strengthening the programme and will continue to shape the government’s work in this area. This was underlined by the success of the Channel 4 segment, which was facilitated following your recommendation and is a testament to your very impressive outreach as commissioner. I note also how the recent HASC report on ‘Combatting New Forms of Extremism’ underlined your report recommendations following your evidence to the committee.
As we continue to digest and implement the review’s recommendations, I hope that there will be further opportunities to improve public perceptions of Prevent during what has been a period of particularly high scrutiny. This is critical given the role of public trust in the programme, which is something I know you are keen to improve. I very much appreciated your feedback on this point specifically when we met recently; I am keen to do what I can to help promote the excellent work done by colleagues in Prevent who face such a difficult challenge.
Throughout your tenure, you have strengthened trust across the Prevent system too. The standards that you have set around independence, expertise, and engagement are something that the substantive commissioner must seek to emulate. I also acknowledge your plea for statutory recognition and powers for the IPC, and hope that this can be delivered in future as part of building trust in both the role and its effectiveness.
Finally, I am incredibly grateful for the commitment you have shown through multiple extensions of tenure while recruitment for a substantive commissioner was underway. Your commitment as Independent Prevent Commissioner will be remembered by ministers, officials, and partners, and, most importantly, felt by those who the programme seeks to help.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
[Signed]
Dan Jarvis MBE MP
Security Minister, Cabinet Office and Home Office