Councils have to be as vigilant about the far right as they are against potential Islamic terrorists when tackling violent extremism, town hall leaders warned this week. Cllr Les Lawrence, chair of the LGA's safer communities board, told a conference on 10 November town halls must be vigilant to all types of extremism. It follows claims some Muslim communities are being disproportionately targeted through joint Whitehall-local authority programmes, such as the Home Office's ‘Prevent' strategy. Some Muslims have complained public bodies have ‘spied' on their activities, and linked the disclosure of information to public funding for programmes designed to tackle extremism. Conversely, some local communities have claimed Muslim groups have received favourable treatment at their expense following events such as the 7/7 bombings. Cllr Lawrence said: ‘It is vital to make sure that our efforts to counter extremist beliefs do not leave members of the Muslim community feeling alienated and unfairly targeted.' ‘While it is essential to understand the specific nature of the threat we face from radical influences, there is a danger that we also run the risk of neglecting the dangers other extremists pose,' he said.
