Concerns extremism in Hampshire worsened by Covid pandemic after swastika and white privilege stickers found

A report on the county's Prevent programme noted stickers promoting white privilege, anti-Covid propaganda and with swastikas had been seen in the county.

The Hampshire County Council report warned the Covid pandemic had exacerbated the risk of people getting involved in extremism.

Prevent in the area has reported a significant increase in 'concerning' cases reported to a multi-agency panel, called Channel.

This panel has seen an 81 per cent increase in cases heard between May and August 2020, and the same period this year.

For May-August 2021 there has also been a 100 per cent increase in new cases. The panel sees agencies intervene with individuals to steer them away from extremism.

Campaigners told the Local Democracy Service the pandemic has led to more people feeling hard-done-by and spending more time online - breeding new communities that spread conspiracies, misinformation and hate.

Incidents in the county council report listed as 'notable' include a Save Our Rights UK protest in Basingstoke last May - where pro-rights supporters claimed that the government's Covid-19 statistics had been exaggerated - and Extinction Rebellion protesters blocking the entrance of Fawley Refinery in August this year.

Director of adult health and care, Graham Allen, said in the report: 'Over the past year, global events have impacted the domestic terrorism landscape and led to growth in hate crime incidences in some communities, resulting in increased demand for Prevent services.'

Executive member for adult services and public health, Cllr Liz Fairhurst, commented on the issue at a county council cabinet meeting last week.

She told councillors that social media and platforms' algorithms have a part to play, and called upon major corporations to step up to the plate.

'I think the tech giants have to take responsibility here, and police what's going on online - they have a duty to stop this sort of thing,' she said.

'It's far too easy for a disaffected young person to be taken in by their propaganda, and once these organisations have a hold over them, you can't see them ever letting go.

'In the past the police have struggled to keep up with the number of malicious websites on the internet - companies like Facebook have to be held responsible for what's on their sites.'

Previously, the Channel panel would meet once a month to discuss ongoing cases. But with the spike in cases through the Covid-19 pandemic, the panel now meets once a fortnight.

Hope Not Hate, a campaign group that fights against racism and fascism, believes many of these cases actually involve young people.

Senior researcher Patrik Hermansson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'Alarmingly, there's a particularly sharp rise in the number of young people involved, which is linked to them spending a lot of time at home on the internet - and they are actually the ones starting these online groups, which spread conspiracy theories and hate speech.

'This then often leads to stickering and protesting, but in some cases it becomes much more violent.

'There have been a lot of issues with social media algorithms, because they recommend these groups to conspiratorial people. But it does stem from people spending more time online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.'

Full details and exact numbers on cases referred to Channel are not released as it is considered counter-terrorism intelligence.

But some campaigners have raised concerns about the programme. Simon Magorian, from Stand Up To Racism Portsmouth, said: 'Some of the things sent to Prevent are, frankly, trivial. There was a woman I know of who was referred for wearing a Free Palestine badge, for example.

'In my eyes, Prevent spends more time policing Muslims than it does dealing with far-right issues - I would be interested in seeing a breakdown of these cases, and what they actually entail.

'Of course, I do also imagine that a lot of these cases will stem from conspiracy theories about vaccinations, 5G masts and so on, because these theories have spread like wildfire during the course of the pandemic.'

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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