UK terror watchdog warns of counter-terrorism bill

The British government’s terrorism watchdog has warned that Prime Minister David Cameron’s counter-terrorism bill may backfire and play into the hands of terrorists.

David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, believes the bill will ultimately alienate Muslim communities and may fuel terrorist recruitment.

“If the wrong decisions are taken, the new law risks provoking a backlash in affected communities, hardening perceptions of an illiberal or Islamophobic approach, alienating those whose integration into British society is already fragile, and playing into the hands of those who, by peddling a grievance agenda, seek to drive people further towards extremism and terrorism,” Anderson wrote in his annual report on the terror laws which was published on Thursday.

“These issues matter because they concern the scope of UK discrimination, hate speech and public order laws, the limit that the state may place on some of our most basic freedoms, the proper limits of surveillance, and the acceptability of imposing suppressive measures without the protections of the criminal law,” he added.

The stark warning comes as the prime minister’s counter-extremism taskforce meets in Downing Street, with House of Lords getting ready to vote on rules banning extremist speakers from university campuses.

‘Singling out Muslims’

London-Based political commentator Zayd al-Isa believes the bill is sort of unclear and could be counterproductive if it is seen as a measure targeting Muslims.

“If the bill is perceived as singling out the Muslim communities, then there would be a severe backlash. It would be counterproductive,…” Zayd al-Isa told Press TV’s UK Desk on Friday.

“Everything has to be based on evidence. It [the bill] has to be transparent and it has to take into consideration that you are dealing with a very very tiny minority that is even rejected by the society,” he added.

Hate crimes against Muslims

Meanwhile, recently-published figures indicated that the number of hate crimes against Muslims has risen in UK over the past year.

According to statistics by Metropolitan Police, Muslims in London faced a 70% increase in Islamophobic attacks in one year.

A total of 816 hate crimes against Muslims have been recorded in the 12 months to July 2015. The number stood at 478 over the same period in 2013-14.

'Suppressing extremist activity'

The counter-extremism bill is expected to be released later this year.

The British government says it is aimed at “suppressing extremist activity”.

The bill will include proposals to outlaw extremist organizations and to hold back the activities of extremists.

There are growing concerns that the bill may further alienate Britain's Muslim communities.

The UK is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2-point-8 million.

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