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Suspected Right-wing extremists now make up a quarter of people referred to the Government’s flagship counter-radicalisation programme, the terror watchdog has revealed.

David Anderson, QC, said the large numbers being identified as far-Right sympathisers illustrated the scale of the sector’s growing danger to Britain and the potentially lethal consequences should not be underestimated.

He added that Right-wing extremists were also “increasingly” seeking to “feed off the tension” caused by Islamist terror to plan violence of their own.

His warning came as he disclosed that the proportion of children and adults referred for suspected far-Right extremism to the Government’s Channel Programme — which seeks to reform those identified as vulnerable to radicalisation — has hit 25 per cent.

That compares with a figure of 15 per cent published by the Government last summer in its most recent report to Parliament on its counter-terrorism strategy.

The sharp increase in far-Right cases follows rising concern about a recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks in London — including a brick covered in swastikas thrown through the window of a Jewish family’s home — and similarly unpleasant Islamophobic incidents.

There was also a rise in hate crime following the Brexit vote. Home Secretary Amber Rudd responded in December by outlawing the neo-Nazi group National Action, making it the first far-Right group to be banned by the Government.

She described the group — which celebrated the murder of MP Jo Cox — as a “racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation” which glorified violence and promoted a “vile ideology”.

Mr Anderson’s warning today comes in an article for the Standard in which he reveals that more than 150 Britons have been stopped from travelling to fight in Syria or Iraq in just one year.

He also calls for an overhaul of the Government’s counter-radicalisation “Prevent” strategy, including through the greater involvement of Muslims in the work and the appointment of an independent watchdog to promote greater public confidence.

Using information from the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism about the Channel programme, he said: “A quarter of Channel cases are now far-Right-related.”

He added: “Increasingly, Right-wing extremists such as Thomas Mair, the killer of Jo Cox MP, feed off the tension [caused by Islamist extremism] to plan violence of their own.

“The threat from extreme Right-wing terrorism in the UK is currently fragmented but the massacre perpetrated by Anders Breivik in Norway is a warning against underestimating the threat.

“Both the Government and the courts treat the threat with the seriousness it deserves. Extreme Right-wing ideology can be just as mur- derous as its Islamist equivalent. A sophisticated network is not a prerequisite for mass slaughter.”

Ministers are currently preparing to publish an updated counter- terrorism policy which will include its latest “Prevent” strategy for stopping radicalisation.

The strategy has been attacked by some Muslims as discriminatory and amounting to “spying”. Mr Anderson said such criticisms were partly the result of “exaggerated tales” promo- ted by “Islamist advocacy groups” but insisted that “significant reform” to Prevent was still needed.

One improvement would be the Government agreeing “to listen and speak to more British Muslims in more places and on topics other than just terrorism”, while there should also be “greater openness” to help counter-claims of discrimination.

Mr Anderson said the Home Office should also share responsibility for Prevent with other departments, such as Education, adding that it should be viewed as a “safeguarding” policy in the same way as those against drugs, gangs and sex abuse.

He also called for an independent watchdog to monitor Prevent and said application of the strategy on “non-violent extremism” should be limited to avoid unnecessary intervention and reduce the likelihood of it being seen as an attack on civil liberties.

The Channel programme was set up as a pilot scheme in 2007 and gradually expanded nationwide.

At first numbers referred each year were in the hundreds. The total has recently jumped significantly, however, to more than 4,000 a year.

Suspected Islamist extremism, which accounts for about 70 per cent of cases, remains the most likely reason for a referral. More than half of those referred are under 18.