Charity threatens legal action against Home Secretary and Met Police over “failure” to collect adequate data to support equality monitoring in Prevent programme
Human rights charity Rights & Security International (RSI) has sent a pre-action letter to the Home Secretary and the Police Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, arguing that a failure to collect “adequate” data to support equality monitoring within the Prevent programme constitutes a breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
In the letter the charity outlines its concerns after examining newly obtained data and documents on the government’s Prevent and Channel programmes – including on how the programmes impact autistic people.
The Prevent program is a national initiative that aims to counter terrorism by stopping individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Channel is a multi-agency follow-on programme from Prevent.
RSI argues that a 2021 report it obtained on autism and Channel commissioned by the Home Office raises concerns about the potential discriminatory impact of the programme on autistic people.
Representing the charity, law firm Leigh Day said: “Having also obtained and analysed previously undisclosed Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) carried out in 2023, RSI is concerned that the government is not adequately addressing the risk of what it believes is an over-reporting of autistic people that the government was aware of as a result of the 2021 report.”
The charity has been raising concerns about the government’s approach to collecting and analysing information about the protected characteristics of people who come into contact with the Prevent and Channel programme since 2023.
It contends that if the government does not collect and analyse this type of data “properly and consistently”, authorities managing these programmes cannot know their impact, including on particular racial groups and disabled people.
According to Leigh Day, RSI has argued in a letter before action that the failure to collect adequate data to support equality monitoring constitutes a breach of the Home Secretary and police’s PSED.
The duty is to have “due regard” to the equality objectives in section 149 of the Equality Act, which include the need to: eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics and those who do not.
Leigh Day revealed that as part of its letter, RSI has asked for a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) meeting to try and resolve its concerns.
Sarah St Vincent, Executive Director of RSI said: “We believe the documents we have obtained suggest that the government is taking a casual and even careless approach to understanding the impact of Prevent on autistic people and minoritised racial groups in Britain. That is not acceptable.
“We also believe the government needs to seriously rethink its approach to the Prevent programme, and in the meantime, authorities need to properly monitor the programme’s equality impact.”
Representing the charity, Carolin Ott, a solicitor at Leigh Day said: “Our client has serious concerns about the government’s monitoring of equality data for those affected by the Prevent programme and believes that changes are needed to ensure compliance with the Equality Act.
“There is an ongoing debate about the appropriateness of the Prevent programme and its potentially disproportionate impact on minority groups. Our client believes that the data it has obtained bolsters its argument that the government needs to change its approach and has asked for a constructive meeting with officials to discuss steps that can be taken to address its concerns.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We understand that those referred to Prevent often present with a range of vulnerabilities, and we take our safeguarding duties very seriously.
“That’s why the Home Secretary has already announced a strategic review to identify and drive improvements in how individuals referred into Prevent who are neurodivergent or suffer from mental ill-health are supported and managed, while keeping pace with the increasingly complex and evolving terrorist threat.”
The Metropolitan Police has been approached for comment.
Lottie Winson
