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Campaigner Sara Khan to lead new counter-extremism body Controversy over new counter-extremism tsar Sara Khan
(about 7 hours later)
Campaigner Sara Khan is to head a new body tasked with identifying and rooting out extremism in the UK. The head of Theresa May's new anti-extremism commission - set up after the Manchester Arena attack - has faced criticism from some Muslim leaders.
She will lead the Commission for Countering Extremism, which Theresa May promised after the Manchester Arena attack. Sara Khan, who has campaigned for women's rights in Muslim communities, has been given the task of rooting out extremism in the UK.
Ms Khan said the body, which will advise ministers, must be staunch in defending freedoms and shared values. She has promised "zero tolerance to those who promote hate".
But former Tory chairwoman Lady Warsi said many British Muslims considered Ms Khan a "mouthpiece" of ministers. But her support for the Home Office's Prevent strategy has led to claims she is too close to the government.
The Conservative peer, the first Muslim woman to serve in cabinet, questioned Ms Khan's likely independence and credibility in a series of tweets and warned of "destructive and dangerous games" being played. Lady Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve as a British cabinet minister, said many British Muslims saw Ms Khan as a "mouthpiece" of ministers.
The BBC's religious affairs correspondent Martin Bashir said the appointment was likely to anger many Muslims who see Ms Khan as too supportive of the controversial Prevent programme. The Conservative peer questioned Ms Khan's likely independence as the Commissioner for Countering Extremism in a series of tweets and warned of "destructive and dangerous games" being played.
Prevent is a government scheme that uses early intervention to try to stop people becoming radicalised but critics have said it has proved ineffective and has diverted resources from other areas. A UN Human Rights Council report in 2016 said it was "inherently flawed." Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The fight against terrorism requires equal partnership between all parties, including Muslim communities.
Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The fight against terrorism requires equal partnership between all parties, including Muslim communities.
"This appointment risks sending a clear and alarming message that the government has no intention of doing so.""This appointment risks sending a clear and alarming message that the government has no intention of doing so."
But Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Ms Khan - who has previously advised the Home Office, Department for Education and Department for International Development - was expertly qualified to lead the body's "vital work". Ms Khan's work in schools and community groups, through her Inspire charity, was praised by then Home Secretary Theresa May, who joined the Sun newspaper in backing her 2014 Making A Stand campaign, which aimed to stop young people joining the Islamic State group.
Who is Sara Khan?
She describes herself on her website as a "born human rights activist", and has campaigned for women's rights within British Muslim communities for over 20 years.
Born and raised in Bradford, she worked as a hospital pharmacist and was president of an Islamic youth organisation before launching the Inspire charity in 2008, with the aim of challenging extremism and promoting gender equality.
In September 2005, after the London bombings, she sat on the Home Office's Tackling Extremism and Radicalisation Working Group and has also worked with the education department and the Department for International Development.
In 2015, she was named in the BBC Woman's Hour Power List.
Ms Khan is a vocal supporter of the government's Prevent strategy, which operates through community groups, local authorities and the police to identify and "divert" those deemed to be at risk of radicalisation.
But the scheme has proved controversial, with claims it demonises and spies on Muslim communities. A UN Human Rights Council report in 2016 said Prevent was "inherently flawed."
Labour MP Naz Shah, who chairs the British Muslims All Party Parliamentary group, is a longstanding critic of Ms Khan's work and support for Prevent.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What is at question is the independence of the person appointed.
"It's a fantastic appointment for the Home Office because this is somebody who is a creation of the Home Office."
Amina Lone, co-director of the Social Action and Research Foundation, a Salford-based charity that campaigns against inequality, said Ms Khan's appointment should be welcomed and her support of Prevent seen as positive as it had "funded loads of community initiatives across this country".
'Expertly qualified'
The government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson, tweeted: "The idea that she is a government stooge is hard to reconcile with her opposition (strongly shared by me) to its ill-advised 2015-16 plans for a counter-extremism bill."
He added: "Let's hope she and her fellow-commissioners can make something useful of this post, whose intended purpose I have never really understood."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Ms Khan was expertly qualified to lead the body's "vital work".
Plans to set up the commission were announced in the wake of the Manchester bombing last May - one of five terror attacks to hit Britain in 2017 - which took place during the general election campaign.Plans to set up the commission were announced in the wake of the Manchester bombing last May - one of five terror attacks to hit Britain in 2017 - which took place during the general election campaign.
One of its first tasks will be to produce an assessment of the threat extremism poses and the current response to it.One of its first tasks will be to produce an assessment of the threat extremism poses and the current response to it.
Its remit is also expected to include helping train schools and colleges to spot warning signs and ensuring women's rights are upheld.Its remit is also expected to include helping train schools and colleges to spot warning signs and ensuring women's rights are upheld.
'Eager to engage' Ms Khan said she recognised the scale of the challenge the UK faced in tackling Islamist and other forms of extremism.
Ms Khan, co-founder of campaign organisation Inspire, said she recognised the scale of the challenge the UK faced in tackling Islamist and other forms of extremism.
"I will create a commission that is forthright in challenging extremism in the name of our shared values, fundamental freedoms and human rights," she said."I will create a commission that is forthright in challenging extremism in the name of our shared values, fundamental freedoms and human rights," she said.
"To those in our country who recognise the harm and threat extremism continues to pose in our society, I am eager to collaborate and engage."To those in our country who recognise the harm and threat extremism continues to pose in our society, I am eager to collaborate and engage.
"I extend my hand out to you to work with me in supporting the Commission's work in building a Britain that defends our diverse country while demonstrating zero tolerance to those who promote hate and who seek to divide us." "I extend my hand out to you to work with me in supporting the commission's work in building a Britain that defends our diverse country while demonstrating zero tolerance to those who promote hate and who seek to divide us."
Ms Rudd said Ms Khan would bring a "wealth of experience and knowledge" to the role.