New anti-extremism powers to be announced in Queen's speech

New powers aimed at tackling extremism within the UK are expected to be included in the Queen’s speech, according to reports from the Guardian.

According to the report, additional measures to ban organisations and close down premises would be included as the Queen opens Parliament on 18 May.

Under the proposed plans, officials could ban radical preachers from posting material online and block anyone with extremist views from working with children. Additionally, Ofcom could be granted powers to block the broadcast of material deemed to promote extremism.

These measures were first suggested under the government’s counter-extremism strategy, which was unveiled in October 2015, but faced criticism from the Muslim Council of Britain as being ‘counterproductive’.