Lead Commissioner for the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE), Sara Khan, and Sir Mark Rowley, have today published their findings from their legal review examining the adequacy of existing legislation in relation to hateful extremism. Sara Khan appointed Sir Mark to lead the review in July 2020.

The landmark report Operating with Impunity – Hateful extremism: The need for a legal framework demonstrates how many hateful extremists are able to operate lawfully. This is due to a lack of legislation designed to capture the specific activity of hateful extremism. As the report evidences, hateful extremists are creating a climate conducive to hate crime, terrorism or other violence; or are attempting to erode and even destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of our democratic society as protected under Article 17 of Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998.

Lead Commissioner Sara Khan says:

Since the 2005 London bombings, one of the long-standing conundrums for the British Government has been how to deal with extremist groups or individuals who are not caught by counter-terrorism legislation, but who are creating a climate that is conducive to terrorism and other societal harms. Previous attempts – such as the 2015 Extremism Bill – were unfocused and rightly criticised because of an inability to ensure the protection of freedom of expression and other civil liberties.

Our report shows how it is possible to square this circle. We have charted a path the government can take which will ensure protection of freedom of expression while restricting the dangerous activity of hateful extremism.

Extremist groups whether neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, Islamist or others are able to operate lawfully, freely and with impunity. They are actively radicalising others and are openly propagating for the erosion of our fundamental democratic rights. Their aim is to subvert our democracy. This is a threat to our civilised democratic order, which cannot be taken for granted and requires a robust, necessary and proportionate legal response.

That is why we are calling on the government to commit to devising a new legal and operational framework to capture the specific activity of hateful extremism. Without such a framework this activity will continue unchallenged and the many harms it is causing in our country will continue to persist and worsen in the next decade.

Sir Mark Rowley says:

As the national lead for Counter-Terrorism Policing I have witnessed many awful acts of terrorism and violence. However, during the course of conducting this review, I have been shocked and horrified by the ghastliness and volume of hateful extremist materials and behaviour which is lawful in Britain.

Not only have our laws failed to keep pace with the evolving threat of modern-day extremism, current legal boundaries allow extremists to operate with impunity. They are carefully steering around existing laws in the ways we describe in our report, openly glorifying terrorism, collecting and sharing some of the most violent extremist propaganda, or intentionally stirring up racial or religious hatred against others. Hateful extremism is creating an ever-bigger pool for terrorists to recruit from, as well as increasing violence, hate crime and tensions between and within communities.

Over the decades, Britain has built a robust legal and operational counter terrorism machinery which has continually evolved in response to the changing terrorist threat. The same is certainly not the case for hateful extremism. The current situation is simply untenable.

That is why Sara and I are convinced that it is now critical for government to devise a new legal and operational framework to counter hateful extremism to strengthen our response, both online and offline. We are at a watershed moment and action is required urgently.

Having provided a summary description of hateful extremism in the 2019 report Challenging Hateful Extremism, the Commission have now put forward a new working definition for hateful extremism as:

Activity or materials directed at an out-group who are perceived as a threat to an in-group motivated by or intending to advance a political, religious or racial supremacist ideology:

a. To create a climate conducive to hate crime, terrorism or other violence; or

b. Attempt to erode or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of our democratic society as protected under Article 17 of Schedule 1 to the HRA 1998

The report has found in the absence of legislation to address hateful extremism in Britain, it is currently lawful to:

• glorify terrorism, so long as one avoids encouraging the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism or related offences
  • for example: praising the actions and ideology of terrorists such as Anders Breivik, the 9/11 hijackers, Thomas Mair, or Brenton Tarrant to a wide audience, which may include children. Sharing content which commends their attacks could be legal, as long as one avoids making a statement that is likely to be understood, by a reasonable person, as a direct or indirect encouragement or inducement, to the public to commit, prepare, or instigate acts of terrorism.
• intentionally stir up racial hatred, so long as one avoids being threatening, abusive or insulting and, in the case of religious hatred, avoids being threatening when doing so (similar offences with variations apply to other protected characteristics)
  • for example: forming a Neo-Nazi extremist group which persistently praises the actions of Adolf Hitler and encourages members to spread Holocaust denial material and antisemitic conspiracy theories, so long as it is not abusive, insulting, or threatening
• publish and distribute material to intentionally stir up racial or religious hatred as long as the material avoids being threatening, abusive, or insulting in its content
  • for example: a fascist extremist organisation circulating pamphlets which promote false claims about a ‘white genocide’ intended to stir up hatred against a racial or religious group, but which are not threatening, abusive, or insulting
• collect material that encourages terrorism, including material which seeks to persuade the reader to commit terrorist acts, so long as the person does not possess it in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that the possession is for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism. This is true even for the most extreme violent terrorist material, such as torture and executions
  • for example: Possessing Islamist extremist propaganda materials, such as violent sermons and ISIS beheading videos

Based on our findings, we make the following recommendations to government:

Recommendation 1

To commission a legal and operational framework to robustly counter the hateful extremism threat.

Recommendation 2

To expand current offences relating to stirring up of hatred and strengthen current resources and capability of law enforcement agencies.

Recommendation 3

To elevate hateful extremism to be a priority threat alongside terrorism and online child sexual exploitation; and to implement the most robust proposals in the Online Harms White Paper.

Our recommendations can be read in full in our report ‘Operating with Impunity’.

Following the announcement of the roadmap yesterday which laid out a cautious easing of restrictions, the government has today, Wednesday 24 February, announced further elements of the recovery support package so children and young people can catch up on missed learning and development due to the pandemic.

As the Prime Minister has said, getting children back into school has been the government’s top priority. From 8 March all children and students will return to face-to-face education in schools and colleges.

This will be supported with a new £700 million package, focusing on an expansion of one-to-one and small group tutoring programmes, as well as supporting the development of disadvantaged children in early years settings, and summer provision for those pupils who need it the most.

A new one-off Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the Pupil Premium, will be provided to schools to use as they see best to support disadvantaged students.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

Teachers and parents have done a heroic job with home schooling, but we know the classroom is the best place for our children to be.

When schools re-open and face to face education resumes on 8 March, our next priority will be ensuring no child is left behind as a result of the learning they have lost over the past year.

This extensive programme of catch-up funding will equip teachers with the tools and resources they need to support their pupils, and give children the opportunities they deserve to learn and fulfil their potential.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Our package of measures will deliver vital support to the children and young people who need it most, making sure everyone has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential no matter their background.

I know that longer-term support over the length of this parliament will be vital to ensure children make up for lost learning. Our Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, will be engaging with teachers, school and college leaders and families over the coming weeks and months to develop our longer term plans.

The new recovery package for England includes:

• A new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most. The average primary school will receive around £6,000 extra, and the average secondary school around £22,000 extra. This will help schools to bolster summer provision for their students, for example laying on additional clubs and activities, or for evidence-based approaches for supporting the most disadvantaged pupils from September.

• £200 million (from the £300 million announced by the Prime Minister in January to expand our successful tutoring programmes). This will fund an £83 million expansion of the National Tutoring Programme for primary and secondary schools, which has been shown to boost catch up learning by as much as 3-5 months at a time; a £102 million extension of the 16-19 Tuition Fund for a further year to support more students in English, maths and other vocational and academic subjects; and £18 million funding to support language development in the early years – £10m to be allocated to a pre-reception early language programme and £8m for Nuffield Foundation to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention for reception children.

• £200 million (including the final £100 million from the Prime Minister’s announcement) will be available to secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs but the government is suggesting they may want to initially target incoming year 7 pupils. This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country.

• A range of high-quality online resources will be available for all teachers and pupils, starting from the summer term and throughout summer holidays. These will be provided by Oak National Academy, to help give pupils the confidence they are ready for the next academic year.

As part of the government’s commitment to develop a longer-term education recovery plan, Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, will lead the way on longer-term engagement work with teachers, school and college leaders, educational charities and families to review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact the pandemic has had on learning.

Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins said:

The National Tutoring Programme has already put us on the right path by enabling tens of thousands of young people to benefit from the high-quality support that tutoring offers.

We know that ensuring all children and young people can make up for lost learning will be a longer-term challenge, and the range of measures announced today are an important next step.

But this is just the beginning and I’ll be engaging with the sector, educational charities as well as families, to ensure this support is delivered in a way that works for both young people and the sector and to understand what more is needed to help recover students’ lost learning over the course of this parliament.

Professor Becky Francis, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) said:

School closures, as a result of the pandemic, have had a devastating impact on the poorest children and the youngest in society.

The evidence shows how tutoring can play a significant part in the education recovery, so it is great the government has committed to funding tutoring – including through the NTP – beyond this academic year. We hope it will have a long-term role in closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates.

The NTP has been working with thousands of schools and children across the country during the latest school closures to deliver expert tutoring, and will continue to do so throughout the spring and into the summer.

Today’s package of support also follows the delivery of more than one million laptops and tablets to the most disadvantaged children and young people across the country, as part of a £400 million government investment that will support schools, colleges and young people for years to come.

More than a third (34.3%) of FTSE 350 board positions are now held by women, with the number of women on boards increasing by 50% over the last 5 years, data released today (Wednesday 24 February) shows, representing a dramatic shift in representation at the very highest levels of British business.

The data has been published in the final report from the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review, which was launched in 2016 to encourage UK-listed companies to appoint more women to their boards and into senior leadership positions.

While men still dominate in the upper ranks of the UK’s top firms, in 5 years the Review has seen remarkable progress among FTSE companies. In total, 220 of the FTSE 350 companies now meet the Hampton-Alexander target of having at least 33% of their board positions held by women – with the figure having quadrupled from just 53 in 2015, and there are no longer any all-male boards in the FTSE 350.

The figures also show an increase in women in wider senior leadership roles, demonstrating that Hampton-Alexander’s top-down approach – with boardrooms setting the standards for women’s representation across the company – is providing pathways to success for women and ultimately supporting British business to strengthen leadership with new ideas and diverse perspectives that come from more women in senior positions.

The FTSE 250 reached the Hampton-Alexander Review’s final target of women making up 33% of boards in December 2020, following the FTSE 100 and FTSE 350, which achieved the milestone in February and September 2020 respectively, highlighting the success of the government’s voluntary, business-led approach in addressing the exclusion of women from the top of FTSE companies.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

FTSE companies have made incredible progress in recent years, but we cannot become complacent in building a society where everyone has an opportunity to get on and succeed.

As we look to build back better from the pandemic, it’s important businesses keep challenging themselves to use all the talents of our workforce and open up the top ranks for more, highly-accomplished women.

The UK government’s voluntary, business-led approach to increasing women’s boardroom representation has been hugely successful and will, I hope, serve as a blueprint for countries across the world looking to make business more reflective of society.

The number of ‘One & Done’ boards – with only one woman – has fallen from 116 in 2015 to just 16. Moving forward, all businesses should be pushing themselves to move beyond tokenism, and ensure even more women are getting into the highest ranks.

FTSE companies have continued to improve women’s membership of boards since Hampton-Alexander figures were last made public in September, despite the impact of coronavirus, which some research suggests has hit women’s employment particularly hard.

While women make up more than a third of those in senior leadership positions, the Review found that significant progress remains to be made on the highest executive roles, such as CEO, and the Review will reflect on these findings in order to chart a way forward.

Hampton-Alexander Review Chair, Sir Philip Hampton said:

There’s been excellent progress for women leaders in business over the last 10 years or more, with boards and shareholders determined to see change. The progress has been strongest with non-executive positions on boards, but the coming years should see many more women taking top executive roles. That’s what is needed to sustain the changes made.

Hampton-Alexander Review CEO, Denise Wilson said:

The lack of women in the boardroom is where it all started a decade ago, and it’s the area where we have seen the greatest progress. But now, we need to achieve the same – if not more – gains for women in leadership. The supply of capable, experienced women is full-to-over-flowing. It is now for business to fully-utilise a talent pool of educated, experienced women, to their own benefit and that of the UK economy.

Mary O’Connor, Acting Senior Partner at KPMG UK, said:

It’s hard to believe that as recently as 2011, 43% of the FTSE 350 still had all-male boards. Thankfully the representation of women on boards and in leadership positions has significantly improved in recent years, with this review having played a critical role in realising that.

Achieving the review’s 33% target at boardroom level marks great progress, but it’s vital we have a strong pipeline of female talent rising the ranks. While women now make up nearly a third of wider senior leadership roles, structural and cultural barriers still exist for women, as well as other underrepresented groups. Our collective efforts to truly eradicate those barriers and create an inclusive leadership culture doesn’t stop here, this is where it intensifies.

Fiona Cannon, Group Sustainable Business Director, Lloyds Banking Group & Hampton-Alexander Review Steering Group, said:

Lloyds Banking Group has been pleased to support the Hampton-Alexander Review over the past 5 years. The framework of voluntary targets, annual reporting and availability of data has been a real strength of the Review as evidenced by the significant progress across UK business. This is hugely encouraging and I hope that the momentum created will continue at what is a crucial inflexion point for gender equality.

The Minister for Women, Baroness Berridge, said:

I want to thank all those companies that have shared their best methods of retaining and promoting talented women in their workforce. Getting women into senior positions can be vital for a company’s success, and we want to see more of it as part of the UK’s COVID-19 recovery. It also makes good business sense, with companies in the top 25% for gender diversity on their executive teams also 25% more likely to have above-average profitability.

The final report will be officially unveiled later today (Wednesday) at a virtual launch event, attended by representatives from the business community, government and the media. Press can register here.

The full report will be available online at www.ftsewomenleaders.com from 22:30 on 23 February.

Women on boards

1. Reported numbers for Women on Boards of FTSE 350, as at 11 January 2021 from Source – BoardEx, show:

• FTSE 100 is at 36.2% up from 32.4% in 2019.
• FTSE 250 is at 33.2% up from 29.6% In 2019.
• FTSE 350 is at 34.3% up from 30.6% in 2019.

2. FTSE 350 has 0 all-male boards, down from 2 in 2019. (Aston Martin Lagonda Holdings Plc was the last remaining all-male Board on 11 January 2021, and this data has been updated to reflect the appointment made on 28 January 2021.)

3. For the first time, the FTSE 100 has 2 companies with more women represented on their board than men: Diageo Plc (60%) and Severn Trent Plc (55.6%).

4. There are 4 companies in FTSE 350 with a women CEO and Chair duo:

• FTSE 100
  • Admiral Group Plc
  • Pennon Group Plc
  • Severn Trent Plc
• FTSE 250
  • Direct Line Insurance Group Plc

5. 220 companies in the FTSE 350 have met the 33% women on boards.

Women in leadership teams

6. Reported numbers for Women in Leadership (defined as the Executive Committee & Direct Reports to the Executive Committee combined) show:

• FTSE 100 is at 30.6% up from 28.6% in 2019
• FTSE 250 is at 28.5% up from 27.9% in 2019
• FTSE 350 is at 29.4% up from in 28.2% in 2019
• FTSE 350 has 28 All-Male Executive Committees, versus 44 in 2019

Source: Hampton-Alexander data collection portal, as at 31 October 2020

7. For further information: website ftsewomenleaders.com

I would like to start by reiterating the United Kingdom’s unwavering support to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, including within its internationally recognised borders and territorial waters.

It is seven years since Russia seized the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol from Ukraine. The passage of time will never make the illegal annexation acceptable.

By forcibly seizing 10,000 square miles of Ukraine, Russia broke the first principle of international law; that countries may not acquire territory or change borders by force. Russia’s actions flagrantly violated its own international commitments including in: Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest memorandum.

Through resolution 68/262, the UN General Assembly affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and the illegality of Crimea’s change of status.

The UK’s position is clear: we do not and will not recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Crimea is part of Ukraine.

Russia continues to commit serious human rights violations beyond its borders, in Crimea. The de-facto authorities persecute and restrict the fundamental freedoms of Crimean Tatars and ethnic and religious groups, with arbitrary arrests, torture and intimidation.

At least 109 Ukrainian political prisoners remain in detention in Russia and Crimea. Crimean Tatar human rights defender Emir Usein Kuku is one such prisoner – he has spent five years imprisoned in Russia, a foreign country, 2300 km from his family and home. Kuku is ill, yet he continues to be denied proper medical treatment. The UK calls on Russia to immediately release all Ukrainian political prisoners.

Russia claims there are no human rights abuses. Then why not allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Crimea to provide a full independent assessment? We call on Russia to grant this access in line with UN General Assembly resolution 75/192. There should be no excuses from Russia for its failure to do so.

We also remain deeply concerned about Russia’s ongoing militarisation of Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Russia has stationed at least 32,500 military personnel in Crimea, and has also deployed advanced weaponry and missile warning systems there. Last July, President Putin laid the keel to build warships in Crimea. This is a global security concern. The UK calls on Russia to withdraw its military forces and equipment from the peninsula.

In the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, Russia’s ships are intentionally obstructing traffic, and violating the right of passage. Every day commercial vessels are harassed. These restrictions are part of a wider strategy to disrupt Ukraine’s economy and destabilise Ukraine.

Since 2015, Russia has forcibly conscripted 28 000 Crimeans and has forced at least 44,000 Crimeans to leave, while more than 172,000 Russians have moved into Crimea Russians now comprise 7-12% of the population, and over 18% in Sevastopol. The UK calls on Russia to cease these unacceptable practices.

Mr President, the Russian-led conflict in eastern Ukraine is entering its 8th year. Russia continues to incite and support military activity by armed formations, including through the deployment of Russian troops and military equipment on Ukrainian territory.

The United Kingdom condemns continuing restrictions on the freedom of movement of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission. The systematic denial of access in non-government controlled areas goes far beyond reasonable Covid-19 precautions. We call on Russia to ensure safe, unconditional and unimpeded access.

We reiterate our strong support for the Minsk agreements, which provide for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in full respect of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and for the work of the Normandy Four in this regard.

We welcome the significant reduction in violence and casualties since the strengthened ceasefire of 27 July last year. It demonstrates what political will on all sides can achieve.

However, Russia and its proxies continue to block the opening of new entry-exit points, frustrate plans on disengagement and demining, and delay further prisoner exchanges. If Russia genuinely wants peace, its actions should support it.

Instead, Russia continues to fuel the conflict and the Ukrainian people continue to pay the price. There have been nearly 3,500 civilian deaths and thousands more injured; 3.4 million people require humanitarian assistance; and 1.4 million are internally displaced.

The United Kingdom once again calls on the international community to stand united behind Ukraine and to oppose Russia’s continued attempts to destabilize Ukraine, undermine her sovereignty and steal her territory.