Independent report

Operating with impunity: legal review

The independent Commission for Countering Extremism has published a legal review, to examine whether existing legislation adequately deals with hateful extremism.

Documents

Operating with impunity: legal review

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Operating with impunity: legal review - summary version

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Details

Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism, Sara Khan, appointed former Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley, to lead the review.

The report evidences how hateful extremists are able to operate lawfully in Britain. This is due to a lack of legislation designed to capture the specific activity of hateful extremism. As the report evidences, hateful extremists are creating a climate conducive to hate crime, terrorism or other violence; or are attempting to erode and even destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of our democratic society as protected under Article 17 of Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998. The report calls on government to devise a new and legal operational framework to counter the threat of hateful extremism.

Published 24 February 2021