New U.K. Law Targets Extremism in Schools

Public officials are required to report anyone they suspect is at risk of becoming radicalized

An unusual measure that requires teachers, including at preschools, to report extremist leanings or behavior by students to police took effect Wednesday in the U.K., as the government steps up its efforts to counter terrorism at home and abroad.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has said the 

government planned to take a more hard line approach

 to tackle ‘the radical narrative that is poisoning young

 minds.’ Photo: Reuters

The provision applies to all public officials, including health workers and local government employees, requiring them to alert authorities if they suspect someone is at risk of becoming radicalized.

Though avenues exist elsewhere for teachers to report students who they believe may be at risk, experts said they weren’t aware of any other countries have implemented a legal requirement to do so.

Many Muslims complained that the new requirement would erode trust between the community and public-sector workers and stifle debate, as students and others could feel like they are under surveillance.

The U.K., like other Western countries, is scrambling to respond to the threat of homegrown extremism leading to terrorist activity, including by trying to stem the spread of radicalization.

But some of the measures Britain is taking—including the new requirement for public-sector workers—go further than other countries.

Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is overhauling surveillance laws and plans to introduce legislation to Parliament this fall. Mr. Cameron has said he also plans a counter-extremism bill that would include banning orders for extremist organizations and steps to ensure colleges and universities don’t give a platform to extremist preachers.

Mr. Cameron has said the government planned a harder approach to tackling “the radical narrative that is poisoning young minds,” saying the attack in Tunisia last week that killed up to 30 Britons showed the need for governments to do more to fight radicalization.

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