Referrals to the Government’s counter-extremism programme Prevent have reached their highest level since records began, rising 27% in the past year, according to new Home Office data.

A total of  8,778 referrals were made in 2024/25, up from 6,922 the previous year. For the first time, extreme right-wing ideology was the most frequently cited concern, representing 21% (1,798) of all cases—surpassing referrals linked to Islamist extremism, which accounted for 10% (870).

Despite this, the majority of cases—56%—involved individuals with no identifiable ideology.

The figures also underline the growing involvement of younger age groups. Of the 8,759 referrals where age was known, 11- to 15-year-olds made up the largest share at 36%, followed by 16- and 17-year-olds at 13%. Notably, 345 children aged 10 or under were also referred.

Concerns around mental health and neurodiversity featured strongly. More than a third of referrals (34%) involved individuals with at least one recorded condition, with Autistic Spectrum Disorder the most common, appearing in 14% of all cases. However, two-thirds of referrals had no mental-health-related information recorded.

For the first time, the Home Office also published data on ethnicity. Where recorded, 65% of referrals were identified as white, 19% Asian, 8% Black, and 8% other ethnicities.

The release of the new statistics comes amid heightened scrutiny of Prevent following the Southport attack, in which three children were killed in July 2024. The attacker, Axel Rudakubana, had been referred to Prevent three times, but an inquiry heard he did not meet the threshold for intervention because he did not display a fixed ideology. Officials reported a sharp rise in referrals linked to “violent fixation” after the attack.

In January, then–Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs she had ordered a review of Prevent thresholds, saying concerns about Islamist extremism had previously been “too low.” Her comments followed a 2023 review by William Shawcross under the Conservative government, which accused Prevent of focusing too heavily on far-right extremism. That report was widely criticised and boycotted by several groups. Photo by HTUK, Wikimedia commons.