Children reported as potential extremists doubles

New figures have shown that the number of young people being reported as potential extremists has almost doubled in a year.

Figures released under a Freedom of Information Act, and reported in The Telegraph, a total of 4,611 people, half of them children and teens, have been flagged up for possible intervention to stop them ‘falling under the spell of extremist ideas’.

In the year to June, there were 2,311 referrals to the Channel scheme for under-18s, up 83 per cent, including 352 cases of children aged nine or under, or an average of one a day.

It is believed that online propaganda is meaning that young people are being exposed to extremist ideas at younger ages than ever before, while the Prevent duty, which is a legal obligation to flag up potential cases, has also led to a huge increase in young people being referred.

In 70 per cent of cases referred, Islamist extremism is involved, while 15 per cent of cases are related to far-right ideas.

The Channel programme, part of the government’s wider anti-terrorism strategy, was established after the 7/7 attacks in 2005 to identify people vulnerable to extremism.