Gove says three Muslim-led groups and two far-right to be assessed for extremism

Three Muslim-led organisations and two far-right groups will be assessed under the government’s controversial new extremism definition, Michael Gove has told MPs.

The communities secretary named the Muslim Association of Britain, Mend and Cage as groups with “Islamist orientation and beliefs” that would be held to account following the launch of a new definition of extremism.

Gove named the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative as groups that promoted neo-Nazi ideology which would also be examined.

But the communities secretary’s new definition drew criticism from across parliament. The former Conservative cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said it “lands in no man’s land” of neither being strong enough to tackle true extremists nor protecting contrarian views.

Gove told MPs: “Organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain, which is the British affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other groups such as Cage and Mend give rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and beliefs.

“We will be holding these and other organisations to account to assess if they meet our definition of extremism, and will take action as appropriate.

“I am sure that we would agree that organisations such as the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative, who promote neo-Nazi ideology, argue for forced repatriation, a white ethno-state and the targeting of minority groups for intimidation, are precisely the type of groups about which we should be concerned and whose activities we will assess against the new definition.”

Gove appeared to have cut out the names of several groups which were named as possibly extremist in a leaked early draft of his ministerial statement seen by the Guardian.

A draft version of Gove’s ministerial statement named Friends of al-Aqsa and 5Pillars as “divisive forces within Muslim communities” and Britain First as a group of concern.

Gove was unveiling the government’s new definition of extremism on Thursday.

He told the Commons: “Our definition will not affect gender-critical campaigners, those with conservative religious beliefs, trans activists, environmental protest groups, or those exercising their proper right to free speech.

“The government is taking every possible precaution to strike a balance in drawing up the new definition between protecting fundamental rights and safeguarding citizens.”

Jenrick, a former Home Office minister, told the Commons: “I fear that the definition, though well-intentioned, lands in no man’s land: not going far enough to tackle the real extremists, not doing enough to protect the non-extremists, those people who are simply expressing contrarian views who might find this definition used against them, not perhaps now, but possibly in the future.”

The new definition, which will be distributed across government and Whitehall, will say: “Extremism is the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to: 1) negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or 2) undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or 3) intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in 1) or 2).”

The previous guidelines, published in 2011, said individuals or groups were only defined as extremist if they showed “vocal or active opposition to British fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.

Groups that would in effect be cancelled by ministers for falling foul of the new definition would be named in the coming weeks, government sources said.

There will be no appeals process if a group is labelled as extremist, it is understood, and groups will instead be expected to challenge a ministerial decision in the courts.

The moves follow a sixfold increase in antisemitic incidents and a fourfold jump in anti-Muslim hatred since Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.