My report “Lessons for Prevent” was published on 16 July 2025. I was interviewed about the report at the time by Andrew Marr on LBC.
As Independent Prevent Commissioner, the first (and interim) holder of that post, I was tasked by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper with reporting on the interactions with Prevent of Ali Harbi Ali, the murderer of Sir David Amess MP, and Axel Rudakubana, the 2024 Southport killer. I was also asked to examine the changes made to Channel in the light of these (failed) interactions, and took the opportunity to identify some further lessons. These concerned, among other things, the future shape of Prevent, its ability to deal with online radicalisation, information-sharing and transparency.
I expect the government to report publicly on the implementation of my recommendations when Phase I of Sir Adrian Fulford’s Southport Inquiry is published in early 2026.
This short film by Channel 4 News (in which I feature), aired on 6 November 2025, is the fruit of one of my recommendations: that media be allowed to see and report on Channel Panel training sessions at the College of Policing in Coventry. It also features an interview with Ahmed, a Prevent intervention provider in South Shields, and comments on the figures for Prevent and Channel referrals in 2024/25, which were published that day.
Another intervention provider, Nick Daines, was interviewed near the start of my 2017 radio documentary, Understanding Prevent – as was a young man whose life he helped to turn round.
