At least 16 people, including two children younger than 10, were referred to the UK's Prevent counter-terrorism programme in England over fears they supported dissident republican extremism, newly published Home Office data reveals. The referrals took place between October 2024 and September 2025.

The Prevent strategy, introduced in 2005, requires public bodies such as schools and police to flag anyone they suspect of being susceptible to radicalisation. Over 10,000 referrals were made across the period, with right-wing extremism accounting for 20 percent and Islamist extremism 8 percent. No ideology was recorded in the majority of cases.

Despite Northern Ireland-related extremism being a distinct category in the data, documents released under freedom of information laws show there is no government guidance on what constitutes such extremism for a Prevent referral. In one response, the Home Office said it held no policy documents explaining the meaning of either dissident republican or loyalist extremism. The official Prevent guidance does not mention Northern Ireland-related terrorism.

Rights and Security International, the London-based group that obtained the documents, said the gap heightens the risk of unnecessary referrals. Jacob Smith, its freedom of expression team leader, said it was bizarre that police process referrals for Northern Ireland-related extremism when Prevent does not apply in Northern Ireland. He warned that without guidance, people expressing their views on constitutional issues could be wrongly flagged.

Justice Minister Naomi Long told the Assembly last year there are no plans to introduce Prevent in Northern Ireland.

Of the 16 dissident republican referrals, seven were aged 25 or under and nine were between 31 and 60. Fourteen were male. Two individuals had schizophrenia and another a psychotic disorder. Six were from the West Midlands, five from the North West of England, and none lived in London or Wales. Only two cases were passed to the Channel de-radicalisation programme; the remaining 14 were either closed without further action or diverted to other services. At least one loyalist-related referral was also recorded, though exact figures were suppressed because of low numbers.

Prevent has faced wider criticism. Axel Rudakubana, who killed three people in Southport in 2024, had been referred three times between 2019 and 2021 but was not deemed to have a fixed ideology. Around 18 percent of Prevent referrals last year involved people with autism, against a UK population prevalence of less than 2 percent. A 2023 Amnesty International report concluded the programme was incompatible with the UK’s human rights obligations. One case cited in the report involved police questioning a man under Prevent powers because his email signature contained a quote by Bobby Sands.

A Home Office spokesman said Prevent was a vital safeguarding programme and referrals were assessed carefully. Concerns about Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Britain, he added, were considered along the same safeguarding principles as any other terrorism-related concern.