Mistake of multiculturalism aided extremists says PM: Report finds politicians' failure to tackle the hard-line views allowed fanaticism to take root



Task force said treating different cultures as 'separate' was an error

Report was scathing about the 'reticence' to confront Islamists



Was a response to the killing of solider Lee Rigby in Woolwich



Claimed the government must take 'responsibility' for allowing fanaticism to develop



Failure: A task force chaired by David Cameron said the policy of treating different cultures as ¿separate and distinct¿ had been a ¿mistake

Timid politicians with a ‘misplaced’ fear of offending Muslims have allowed Islamist extremism to take root in the institutions of Britain, the Prime Minister warned yesterday.

A task force chaired by David Cameron said the policy of treating different cultures as ‘separate and distinct’ – known as multiculturalism – had been a ‘mistake’.

The panel said it was far easier to combat the fanaticism that leads to terrorism when different communities ‘come together to challenge it’.

Yesterday’s report – a response to the killing of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich – was scathing about the ‘reticence’ of politicians to confront Islamists.

It was published by Downing Street on behalf of Mr Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and a string of other senior Cabinet ministers.

The report gives a stark warning of how – by being afraid to challenge hard-line views – politicians had allowed fanaticism to take root in a string of British institutions.

It says: ‘The Government, as much as organisations and communities in the UK, must take responsibility.

‘We have been too reticent about challenging extreme Islamist ideologies in the past, in part because of a misplaced concern that attacking Islamist extremism equates to an attack on Islam itself.



This reticence, and the failure to confront extremists, has led to an environment conducive to radicalisation in some mosques and Islamic centres, universities and prisons.’

For three decades, Whitehall promoted a strategy of multiculturalism that Mr Cameron has previously described as ‘encouraging different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream’.



The task force, which the PM personally chaired, warns this was a ‘mistake’. It says: ‘Extremism is less likely to be tolerated by communities which come together to challenge it.

‘Britain is stronger because of its open, multi-faith and multi-racial communities, which can tackle extremists together and challenge the view that it is not possible to be a true Muslim and be integrated in British society.

‘Approaches in the past that, on occasion, sought to deal with different communities as separate and distinct, were mistaken.’

Mr Cameron called on the Government and wider society to ‘take action to confront extremism in all its forms, whether in our communities, schools, prisons, Islamic centres or universities’.

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He said yesterday: ‘I have been absolutely clear that this is not something we should be afraid to address for fear of cultural sensitivities.’

The task force is recommending new civil powers – dubbed ‘Tebos’, or terror and extremism behaviour orders – to target extremists.

They could be used to bar people from preaching messages of terror and hate, associating with named individuals thought vulnerable to radicalisation, and from entering specific venues such as mosques or community halls.

Ministers also want new internet filters to block extremist websites and extended powers for watchdogs to shut down charities suspected of being fronts for extremist groups.

The Government is also introducing a new definition of extremism which specifically includes a ‘distorted interpretation of Islam’ which argues against ‘liberal values such as democracy, the rule of law and equality’.