This is another one of those stories that the BBC has disinterred from the archives but presents as new News just before the election…
Staff shortages are making it harder to tackle Islamic radicalisation in England’s prisons, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office has warned.
Chris Phillips said shortages meant extremists were not properly monitored, enabling them to recruit others.
Staff shortages, due to government cuts, are leading to dangerous Islamic radicals taking over our prisons.
Shock horror….though the fact that the number of Muslim prisoners has doubled in the last few years could be the relevant factor rather than lack of staff.
Still….Funny what a difference a year makes as only last May the BBC was investigating the same problem of radicalisation in prisons and not a word about staff numbers…in fact the problem was staff knowing but not being able to do anything….not only that but then it was a ‘small problem’…though still a serious one when it happens….
The head of the prison and probation service says there is a small but “significant risk” of Muslim prisoners becoming radicalised.
“The prison officers witnessed people become Muslim and in front of them I was giving them what we call Shahada, an invitation and acceptance of Islam.
“They was becoming Muslim in front of the prison officers – and they [the officers] felt sort of powerless.
There are around 100 Islamist terrorists in prison.
The Prison Service claims that the radicalisation of Muslim inmates is rare. But when it happens it can be serious.
Here is the Panorama film…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMXWyt78-6Q
You can see that there is little the prison officers can really do other than move prisoners from prison to prison…’Islamisation’ is occuring in front of their eyes so it isn’t a problem of not being able to monitor events…it’s being almost powerless to prevent them happening in standard prisons where Muslim, ‘moderate’ and ‘extreme’, and non-Muslims mix….the solution is an isolation prison just for the radicals.
And this isn’t just a problem that has recently occured because of ‘cuts’...here’s Quilliam detailing similar radicalisation in prisons in 2009…
A new report by Quilliam on prison radicalisation, Unlocking Al-Qaeda: Islamist extremism in British prisons, reveals that government measures to stop Islamist radicalisation in prison are failing to halt the spread of jihadist ideology in British prisons.
Quilliam warns that failure to tackle prison radicalisation risks creating a fresh wave of hardened extremists, both inside and outside prisons, who are willing and capable of conducting terrorist violence.
Pro-active recruitment by extremists. Imprisoned extremists are pro-actively seeking to recruit other Muslims to their cause, for example, by befriending them soon after their arrival in prison, protecting them from other inmates and leading prison protests against alleged mistreatment by prison authorities.
– Extremists being empowered by the prison service. Extremists are often seen by prison staff seen as ‘go-betweens’ between the prison service and ordinary Muslims. In addition, leading extremists have been allowed to lead Friday prayers and given mentoring courses that allow them to become ‘spiritual advisors’ to other inmates.
– Increasing Muslim gang culture. There are increasing reports of Muslim gangs forming in prison, some of them involving known extremists. Some of these gangs aim to intimidate and attack non-Muslim prisoners. Convicted terrorists have additionally carried out violent attacks in prison against non-Muslim prisoners.
– Extremist books in prison: Some Muslim prisoners, including known and suspected extremists, report reading pro-jihadist books in prison such as Milestones by Sayyid Qutb, the main inspiration for modern jihadist thought.
– Extremists producing prison propaganda. Prominent pro-Al-Qaeda ideologues such as Abu Qatada have been able to smuggle messages out of prison to their supporters. Other convicted extremists have issued pro-jihadist statements from prison while others have appeared on Islamic TV stations from within prison.
– Staff failings are fuelling radicalisation. A widespread lack of understanding of mainstream Islam and of Islamist radicalisation among Prison Service staff has undermined government efforts to tackle prison extremism. In addition, incidents of racism and prejudice by staff towards Muslim prisoners risk pushing them towards extremist ideologies.
The issues raised are the same ones that were raised again in 2014….very often the prison staff are facilitating Islamisation by their attempts either to be overly Islam-friendly or, in the eyes of the prisoners, too heavy handed in stamping down on their practises.
Quilliam says…
‘The Prison Service has taken some steps towards tackling extremism but these are not enough. Islamist extremists are running rings around a prison service which often seems clueless about the nature of the extremist threat.
‘It is staggering that known extremists, with their accommodation and food provided by the government, are effectively radicalising other prisoners at taxpayer expense. If this situation is not tackled, British prisons risk becoming universities of terror.
‘It is time for the British government to consider serious long-term measures to tackle prison radicalisation. The most important of these is to create a specialised de-radicalisation centre which can ‘de-programme’ existing extremists as has been done in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Yemen.’
No mention of staff levels.
The BBC has wiped the archives clean and rewritten the history…just as it has with the economy….it’s cuts, cuts, cuts….but hardly a reference as to why the cuts are necessary….such as the worst recession in 100 years…thanks to you know who.