The former chief crown prosecutor and the country's most prominent Muslim lawyer has said British Islamic groups are undermining fight against terror by peddling 'myths' about the Prevent campaign.

Nazir Afzal has claimed an 'industry', of Muslim groups was spreading misinformation about the Prevent strategy, according to The Times.

The scheme was developed by the Home Office in 2003 as part of the Government's CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy.

Nazir Afzal has claimed an 'industry', of Muslim groups was spreading misinformation about the Prevent strategy

He slammed the Muslim Council of Britain (above) who he says did not address radicalisation nor the threat of people going to Syria in the agenda for the annual general meeting last year

It aims to identify people who are at risk of being radicalised and stop them from becoming terrorists or endorse terrorism.

Mr Afzal, who recently stepped down from his position as chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, slammed the Muslim Council of Britain, who he says did not address radicalisation nor the threat of people going to Syria in the agenda for the annual general meeting last year.

The 54-year-old also claimed Cage, an advocacy group, and Prevent Watch, which 'supports communities impacted by prevent', were 'distorting' the truth about counter-radicalisation.

Speaking to the newspaper, he said: 'We all have a responsibility to stand up for British values and the rule of law.'

When discussing the positives of the Prevent strategy, he said: 'It's stopped at least 150 people from going to Syria, 50 of them children.

'It's grassroots — it's not about criminalising and it has an impact but it's constantly undermined by myths that urgently need to be challenged.'

However, over the years the strategy has been slammed by critics for stigmatising Muslims.

Last year, the National Union of Teachers raised its concerns over the strategy and called on the Government to withdraw its clause regarding schools.

Since summer 2015, Prevent has obliged teachers to refer to police pupils they suspect of engaging in some sort of terrorist activity or radical behaviour.

NUT executive member Alex Kenny, speaking at the union's annual conference in Brighton, said: 'We want to keep children safe from those organisations who promote hatred and violence. But there are limits to what we can do, and Prevent is making that harder.

'Four thousand referrals in the last 18 months is not a sign that the strategy is working, it's a sign that the strategy is flawed.'

In an appeal to Government, he said: 'Listen to what we are saying, think about what we are saying, and stop what you are doing.'

Mr Afzal claimed Cage, an advocacy group, and Prevent Watch, which 'supports communities impacted by prevent', were 'distorting' the truth about counter-radicalisation. Above is Cage research director, Asim Qureshi

Cerie Bullivant, a spokesman for Cage, said: 'What Nazir deliberately fail to mention is that these "myths" are the real experiences of those who have gone through PREVENT and Cage's concerns have been echoed across a broad spectrum of society including the NUT, the Royal College of Psychiatry, the UN and several MPs.'

A spokesperson for Prevent Watch said: 'We would expect a former chief government lawyer to examine evidence impartially rather than engage in pro-Prevent propaganda.

'It is disappointing that he ignored evidence from many experts, organisations and published reports that document failings of the Prevent policy. He has also not examined the many real stories of families and children impacted by the Prevent policy who have been traumatised by their experience.

'Prevent Watch helps people impacted by prevent, we have supported nearly 300 cases of people harmed by prevent, many of the cases are available on our website at preventwatch.org. To progress this debate forward we call for more transparency and independent expert analysis.'

'In 2016 the Government claims 7,500 cases were referred to Prevent of which the Government admits 90 per cent were not Prevent related. The majority of these cases were Muslims and children.'

A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said: 'We are dismayed that Mr Afzal should choose to single out and criticise the Muslim Council of Britain. He was formally invited as a plenary speaker at our AGM in June 2015 on the topic of 'Our Rights & Responsibilities- Personal Reflections' alongside other prominent lawyers.

'If the issue of people travelling to Syria was an issue for him at that time then he could have made the point at the AGM when he spoke. To raise this now in the aftermath of the Manchester attack is simply opportunistic and disingenuous.

'In addition to our long held opposition to terrorism, since 2014 we have facilitated grassroots conversations to see what Muslim communities themselves should do to help the fight against terrorism.

'Our call for an independent review of Prevent to regain trust through positive engagement with communities is consistent with experts, practitioners, the former Independent Reviewer David Anderson QC and most recently by the former UN special rapporteur.

'We all want a safer a nation and effective programmes that enable the country to tackle the scourge of terrorism and extremism: any criticism of the Prevent initiative, whether from the Joint Committee on Human Rights or the Muslim Council of Britain is in that spirit.'