Room to grow?

It is becoming a perennial sore of UK politics that the country's counter-terrorism system appears to be broken but no one can figure out if it needs to be shored up or shipped out.

A new contribution has emerged on Wednesday as David Anderson, the interim reviewer of the flagship Prevent scheme, found failings in recent high-profile murder cases. These revolve around gateway questions on handling the reported dangers. Are they fixations on violence or ideological obsessions?

As Anderson writes the programme is controversial for contradictory reasons. The report finds that Prevent should apply to individuals who have no fixed ideology but a fascination with extreme violence or mass casualty attacks.

It adds in the longer term, Prevent could function better if formally connected to a broader safeguarding and violence protection system.

Before the release Robin Simcox, of the UK's Commission for Countering Extremism, was in Parliament on Tuesday where he noted there has been years of "drift" on how Prevent is best focused.

Sitting beside him at the Home Affairs committee was Mr Anderson, who looked at the case of the man who went on to assassinate MP Sir David Amess

Mr Amess' killer, Ali Harbi Ali, was first referred to Prevent as a teenager in 2014 amid concerns he was being drawn towards Islamist ideology. He was one of a small proportion of the thousands referred to Prevent who are then put on its Channel programme for intensive support.

There was then a long string of failings, some of which were consistent with practice at the time but most of which were the product of poor judgement, poor communication and lack of follow-through. "It is particularly regrettable that after a contract for seven mentoring sessions was signed, only one actually took place," the report said.

It was after consuming ISIS material that he stabbed Mr Amess to death as the MP held a constituency surgery in 2021. That was prosecuted as a terrorist attack and the Amess family have called for a public inquiry into what was known about the killer.

Mr Anderson was asked to look at Prevent by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said his review would tackle the wider problems of youth violence and extremism. The report also looked at the murder of three young girls in Southport by Axel Rudakubana, who had been referred three times to the scheme but there was no further action in his case because his obsession was with violence not religiously rooted.

The review of Prevent follows one previously undertaken by William Shawcross, which found the British government needs a renewed focus on Islamist extremism.

In the report, Mr Shawcross said Prevent had helped some people disengage from terrorism. But he added: "Despite this, all too often those who commit terrorist acts in this country have been previously referred to Prevent.

"Prevent's first objective - to tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism - is not being sufficiently met. Prevent is not doing enough to counter non-violent Islamist extremism."

Mr Simcox warned against buying the narrative that Prevent could not succeed. "It is a gold standard looked at with some envy by our friends over the world."

Marwan displayed

After an opening morning preview I can say the third annual Arab Art Exhibition at Christie’s is a blockbuster. A massive collection of more than 150 pieces from the work of Marwan Kassab-Bachi is spotlighting the late Syrian painter, presenting works that chart his remarkable career, from the figurative works of the 1960s that emerged after his move to study at a German art school, the landscape melding head portraits, the enigmatic Marionette series and his final tussle with death in face depictions.

Marwan: Soul in Exile will take place between July 16 and August 22 at Christie’s global headquarters in London. Christies has put its heft behind the campaign, which is spearheaded by its Middle East chairman Ridha Moumni.

Snapback Iran

Time is running out for Iran to avoid UN sanctions steamrollering back under the so-called snapback mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot revealed on Tuesday that he was eyeing an end-of-August deadline for Iran to return to the table to negotiate on its nuclear programme. After the 12-day war, the US has pushed for talks, insisting Iran concedes its enrichment activities in advance.

“It's a fact: Iran violated the obligations it took 10 years ago during negotiations on the Iranian nuclear [programme],” Mr Barrot said in Brussels this week.

The UK is also privately warning the Iranians that time is running out for diplomacy before the snapback deadline in October.

Libyan migration

Hamish Falconer, the UK's Middle East and North Africa minister, has been in Libya where the big topic was collaboration between the UK’s National Crime Agency and the local authorities.

Currently the number of boat people arriving in Britain is running 50 per cent higher than last year.

On the ground this has led to arrest warrants against people-smuggling networks and successful prosecutions in Libya. A statement reminded us that vulnerable lives are being smuggled to Europe via dangerous, illegal routes.

Many of the migrants on those boats crossing the narrow and choppy English Channel had already crossed the Mediterranean Sea. Hailing from Sudan or Eritrea, for example, they must cross the Sahara and then press on from the North African coast for the chance to get to Europe.

Libya has become the pre-eminent gateway to Europe. Alongside its neighbours Tunisia and Egypt, it has noted the emergence of criminal gangs with deep networks capable of sustaining the movement of tens of thousands halfway across the Western Hemisphere.

When then-US president Barack Obama decided to lead from behind in the Libyan war to overthrow the country’s establishment in 2011, Britain and France stood up to spearhead the operations. There is so much ground to recover, Mr Falconer and his colleagues should probably put Tripoli, and even Benghazi, on the department's itinerary every few months.