Misogynist online trolls, animal rights protesters and hard-Left activists who target others with persistent abuse should be dealt with by ministers as “hateful extremists” alongside Islamists and the far Right, Government advisers said today.
The Commission for Countering Extremism says a new approach is needed because “hateful, hostile and supremacist beliefs are increasingly visible in our country today” and harming lives.
It urges a new definition of “hateful extremism” to ensure the law can better protect the public from those fomenting hatred in society.
The commission says those covered by the definition should include people who claim to make a “moral case” for violence – for example by celebrating the death of British soldiers — or who promote hatred against minorities to bolster the far Right.
But it says that those who aggressively hound others who question their world view should also be be targeted in a new drive against hateful extremism.
It says they include some hardline animal rights activists, anti-Semites, environmental campaigners and some members of the hard Left.
Others in the category — to be determined by a person’s behaviour rather than their beliefs — include misogynist trolls who persistently vilify women online.
Sara Khan, who heads the commission, said the Government’s existing approach was “insufficient” and allowed the spread of hatred.
She said a task force chaired by Home Secretary Priti Patel was needed and added: “People, young and old, have cried as they described how extremists targeted them because of their sexuality, their gender, their race or religious identity.”
Examples cited include an Islamist describing a British suicide bomber’s act as “a price worth paying” and a far-Right activist hailing the man who murdered MP Jo Cox as “a hero”.
