A 12-year-old boy in South Tyneside has been investigated by counter-extremism officers after declaring in an online video that "there are only two genders" and "there's no such thing as non-binary." His mother uploaded the video to YouTube. The school, concerned about potential radicalization, referred him to Prevent, the Home Office programme aimed at preventing terrorism.
The boy's mother described meetings with Prevent and Northumbria Police officers, which she termed as "an interrogation." Concerns centered on potential far-right radicalization, driven by the boy's statements and responses to school bullies, including remarks about Hamas and wanting to "exterminate" bullies who made racist slurs. Additionally, the boy demonstrated a toy crossbow in another video, raising further concerns.
The mother criticized the school and Prevent officers for double standards, alleging inadequate responses to anti-Semitic incidents at the school. Counter-terrorism and police officials declined to comment on individual cases but emphasized the importance of early intervention through Prevent to safeguard those at risk.
Fair Cop chief executive Harry Miller and LGB Alliance chief executive Kate Barker criticized the police action. Miller argued that the boy's views on gender were far removed from terrorism, while Barker condemned the treatment of the child for expressing his beliefs.
Prevent, introduced in 2011, aims to tackle terrorism through early intervention. The latest Home Office data shows 6,817 referrals to Prevent in the year ending March 31, 2023, a 6.4% increase from the previous year.