The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new record £725,000 investment for grassroots community groups to empower them to counter extremism, tackle the rise in hate

crime offences and keep Londoners vulnerable to radicalisation safe.

This investment is part of the Mayor’s record fund of more than £2 million [1] to support grassroots community groups to stand up to hate and comes at a time when a record number of young people are being investigated for terrorism offences [2] and a new warning that far-right extremists are increasingly being radicalised online. [3]

Major cities across Europe have been the target of recent terror attacks, with a bomb blast in a busy area of Istanbul killing six people and a terror incident outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital in November 2021 and, since then, recommendations made by the Manchester Arena Inquiry have called on all frontline emergency services and responders to strengthen preparedness against the constantly evolving threat of terrorism.

The cost of living of living crisis has also exacerbated existing concerns about young and disenfranchised Londoners being exposed to hateful ideology online. The Mayor is continuing to work closely with the Met, key agencies and security partners and has ensured that the capital is significantly better prepared for a terrorist attack than it was five years ago, as a result of the Lord Harris Review he commissioned. [4].

Investment from City Hall to tackle all forms of extremism coincides with the launch of this year’s Counter Terrorism Policing Winter Vigilance Campaign, which is a nationwide policing initiative encouraging the public to be extra vigilant and to report anything suspicious when attending Christmas markets and other mass gatherings over the festive season.

The Mayor’s grassroots fund will support community and grassroots groups across London to run projects and educational activities to help empower Londoners of all ages to challenge racist, extremist and hateful views in their communities.

Since it launched in 2020, tens of thousands of Londoners have directly benefited from grassroots projects that tackle all forms of hate and extremism including racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, incel ideology, religious extremism and misogyny.

A number of projects are already underway thanks to the Mayor’s funding and include:

• Exit Hate UK’s ‘Peace Advocates’ project, which uses the lived experiences of former right-wing extremists to train Londoners to spot the early warning signs that someone could be becoming radicalised. 
• The Groundswell Project which is educating Londoners about how to challenge hate within their communities and connects people with inspiring local events, charities and volunteering opportunities across the capital through its Kindness Mapper App. 
• Projects being delivered in schools such as an activity-led programme challenging antisemitism and Islamophobia delivered by the multi-faith facilitators of Maccabi GB, a leading Anglo-Jewish sports, health and wellbeing charity. Another project, by Arc Theatre Ensemble, uses live theatre performance to counter broad hate and intolerance through the lens of the Second World War.
• Counter terrorism funding for community foundations at Chelsea Football Club and West Ham United, respectively, which work with young Londoners to tackle hate and extremism and use the power of football to deliver life-changing opportunities.

The Mayor has been clear that extremism and bigotry of any kind has absolutely no place in London and his fund is focused on investing in projects which work to address and diffuse the complex drivers of extremism through education and understanding as part of his work to build a safer London for everyone.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “We know that uncertainty and hardship can create fertile breeding grounds for hatred and division as extremists take the opportunity to prey on impressionable young Londoners.

“My continued investment in grassroots initiatives has already ensured that thousands of people in our city are actively engaged with projects and programmes working to strengthen our communities and encouraging everyone to reject extremist ideologies.

“This is part of my ongoing commitment to make our city fairer and safer for all so that more Londoners are better equipped to resist the threat of extremism.”

Commander Richard Smith, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said:“We’re becoming increasingly concerned about the number of young people who are being drawn into extremist and terrorist activity. The work we do though Prevent, in close partnership with others, including the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), is vital in helping to steer those who are vulnerable away from the dangers of extremists and terrorism. Whilst this work is vital, so too is the support of the public – in particular parents and carers – to be vigilant and get in touch and to act early, in order to prevent their loved-ones from going down a dangerous path towards radicalisation.”

Nigel Bromage, Founder and CEO of Exit Hate UK, said: “Far-right extremism today can reach anyone, causing damage and hurt everywhere it touches. 

“Seeking to offer a safe route away from right-wing extremism, Exit Hate has benefited from the support of the Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund by facilitating us to develop a programme called ‘Peace Advocates’. The project seeks to train local people to spot the signs which could highlight that someone is potentially vulnerable to or targeted by far-right extremists alongside showing participants where to access specialist and non-judgemental help and support.

“Understanding the growing threat from right-wing extremism, the Shared Endeavour Fund is crucial to supporting small independent charities like ours to deliver critical work in the heart of communities and empower local people to create positive change. Without this support, many well placed and willing stakeholders simply would be unable to play impactful roles in keeping their family, friends and communities safe.” 

Hadiya Masieh, Founder and Executive Director of the Groundswell Project, said:“The legacy of the Coronavirus pandemic has had lasting effects on young people. The experience of becoming suddenly isolated, feeling a sense of true fear for the future and finding solace in increased online activity created potential openings for extremists to exploit. Alongside the pandemic, other big issues such as increased societal polarisation and the cost of living crisis are continuing to create platforms for those who peddle hate and extremism to susceptible young minds.

“At Groundswell Project, we use the lived experience of former extremists to share their stories and give young Londoners the tools to identify the manipulative tactics of extremists and reject hate. Our policy of drowning out the loud minority, whose ambition is to promote division, suspicion and intolerance with a groundswell of love, positivity and the defence of our shared values is proven to be impactful in tackling hatred.

“But we can’t do this on our own. The support of the Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund has been invaluable in helping us deliver meaningful workshops with young Londoners across the capital and continue our work to find, connect and amplify those who want to promote love and inclusivity as well as inspire positive change.”

[1] Breakdown of the Shared Endeavour Fund: 

The Mayor’s additional funding boost to his Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme this week means Sadiq has now invested over £2 million – more than any other Mayor – in the funding of positive projects and opportunities to support Londoners including the next generation in standing up against hate and extremism.

The projects which have been allocated funds in the latest round of the Shared Endeavour Fund have until March 2023 to deliver their projects – this is the funding timeline:

• Call 1 of the Shared Endeavour Fund – 2020/21 – £800k (match funding £400k each from Mayor and Google.org) – funded 31 projects – reached more than 28,000 direct beneficiaries. 
• Call 2 – 2021/22 – £600k (Mayor funds only) – funded 19 projects reached more than 33,000 direct beneficiaries.  
• Call 3 – 2022/23 (current call) – £725k (Mayor funds only) – funding 22 projects – expected to reach 26,500 participants. 

About the Shared Endeavour Fund:

The Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund offers grants of up to £45,000 for projects which identify opportunities to counter violent extremism in London, and is focused on funding initiatives which help to counter extremism in London across these key areas:

• Strengthening communities against extremism; 
• Encouraging Londoners to stand up to hate and intolerance; 
• Safeguarding vulnerable Londoners from radicalisation; 
• Stopping the spread of extremist ideologies. 

 The Shared Endeavour Fund priorities are:

• Awareness raising: Increase Londoners’ awareness of the existence, impact and counter-arguments to racism, intolerance, hate, extremism and/or terrorism;
• Building psychosocial resilience: Strengthen psychosocial factors among Londoners that promote resilience to radicalisation and extremist recruitment; 
• Encouraging prosocial behaviours: Empower Londoners to actively, confidently and safely challenge intolerant, hateful and extremist attitudes and behaviours; 
• Stakeholder capacity building: Support key stakeholders such as teachers, practitioners, community leaders and activists to work with communities to prevent and counter intolerance, hate, extremism and radicalisation. 
• Shared Endeavour Fund projects are being delivered across the capital in every London borough in which the Met has a dedicated Basic Command Unit team.
• More on the Shared Endeavour Fund:https://www.groundwork.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/london-grants/shared-endeavour-fund/.   

[2] Figures released by the Home Office show there were 33 such arrests of under-18s in the 12 months to June 2022, the largest number ever recorded with the majority in relation to far-right ideology. There were also 155,841 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022 – a 26 per cent increase compared with the previous year – with 70 per cent of these offences being racially motivated.

[3] In November 2022, the Security Service – MI5 – confirmed that eight late-stage terror plots in the UK, including by both Islamist and extreme far-right suspects, had been foiled since last summer (2022) – taking the total stopped since the start of 2017 to 37.

[4] A counter-terrorism review by Lord Toby Harris, published in March 2022, found that significant improvements in communication and coordination between the capital’s emergency services and partner agencies had been made following the Mayor of London’s intervention to ensure London is best-prepared to respond to a terror attack. News Release: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/new-counter-terrorism-review-by-lord-toby-harris. Photo by Ввласенко, Wikimedia commons.