Analysis: There have been multiple investigations under the Prevent counter-terrorism programme. At least 16 members of UK military referred to anti-extremism scheme. The attractiveness of the armed forces for the far right is as old as British fascism’s earliest incarnations. During the extreme right’s periodic postwar resurgences, groups such as Oswald Mosley’s Union Movement and later the National Front also coveted recruits from the military’s ranks. Yet in an age of concern about a new far right – technologically literate and at its most extreme focused less on political activity than on violence – the continued threat is underlined by records revealing multiple investigations of military personnel under the UK’s counter-terrorism programme, Prevent. No fewer than 14 investigations were carried out in 2019, including 11 stemming from potential far-right concerns, while there were more this year and last. What’s missing is the number of referrals to Channel, the discrete de-radicalisation process under Prevent, which is voluntary.
via guardian: Attractiveness of British military for far right continues to be a threat