"Professor Ian Acheson, Senior Advisor, Counter Extremism Project said: ‘These are necessary next steps to confront and deter those who advocate for violent extremism.
‘Hateful anti-British ideas that undermine our democracy creating intimidation and fear need ideologues to drive them.
‘It is intolerable that the state underwrites people and organisations poisoning community life in one of the most successful multi-ethnic countries in the world.’"

CEP Senior Advisor Liam Duffy writes: "Britain had been caught completely off-guard by Islamist extremism, and reasserting fundamental British values appeared to be the answer. In fact, extremism was even defined by the Government as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”. The only problem: the reassertion of fundamental British values against this threat never really came. Many schools were confused and just did their best to keep Ofsted inspectors at bay. I saw “fundamental British values” hall displays made up of portraits of semi-obscure Royals and pictures of fish and chips. Elsewhere, the use of the word “British” before “values” made the mainly Left-leaning public and education sectors expected to promote them squirm. And so, in the absence of any revitalisation of British democratic values, Islamists largely just carried on going about their business."

"Professor Ian Acheson, Senior Advisor, Counter Extremism Project said: 

These are necessary next steps to confront and deter those who advocate for violent extremism. Hateful anti-British ideas that undermine our democracy creating intimidation and fear need ideologues to drive them. It is intolerable that the state underwrites people and organisations poisoning community life in one of the most successful multi-ethnic countries in the world."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson: "These appointments are effective at providing a conduit between ministers and what’s happening at street level on issues now so serious that they forced the Prime Minister into a rare Downing Street address on extremism not two weeks ago. They marry intent with capability. Speaking truth to power is easier to achieve when your interlocutors are unencumbered by Civil Service machinery that grinds against unpalatable facts. But this week we will see an effort by ministers to update the work to counter-extremism which requires a ‘whole of Government’ response far beyond the purview of the czar."

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler writes: "Two decades ago, on March 11, 2004, Europe was shaken by what is still one of the deadliest terror attacks on its soil. 

The Madrid train bombings, which claimed the lives of 191 people and injured over 2,000 others, left an indelible mark on Spain and the global community. 

As we mark the anniversary of this tragic event, it is evident that despite significant advances in counter-terrorism capabilities, the challenges posed by Islamist extremism and terrorism remain as complex and formidable as ever."

"This might be a "necessary step", Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project, told The National. But there is concern that it could inadvertently penalise mainstream Muslim groups, as well as organisations campaigning against gay marriage, transgender rights, environmental groups and even supporters of Scottish independence, said Scottish newspaper The National."

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: “Are we being ‘poisoned’ by extremism? The Prime Minister seems to think so. His speech on the steps of Downing Street following the Rochdale by-election described a country where values of tolerance and civility were being deliberately undermined by Islamists and the far right. ‘Islamist extremists and the far right feed off and embolden each other,’ he warned. But in conflating those two threats, the Prime Minister made the same mistake as his predecessors.”