A counter-terror initiative identified some of Britain’s most well-known comedies and famous literary masterpieces as possible indicators of far-Right extremism.
The 1955 epic war picture The Dam Busters, the comedies Yes Minister and The Thick of It, and even The Complete Works of William Shakespeare were picked out by the government’s flagship Prevent program as potential signs of extremism.
The literary works were described as “essential texts” for “white nationalists/supremacists.”
The Research Information and Communications Unit (RICU) of Prevent published a paper describing how far-right extremists pushed “reading lists” on internet message boards. Also, it replicated a photo of Oswald Mosley, the head of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, and Nigel Farage that was being circulated on far-right websites as a list of “essential literature.”
The taxpayer-funded paper included allusions to JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent, George Orwell’s 1984, and GK Chesterton’s poetry. Zulu, The Great Escape, and The Bridge on the River Kwai were among the movies that were mentioned.
The writings of some of the world’s greatest authors, including Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Tennyson, Kipling, and Edmund Burke, were used as instances of warning indications of impending extremism.
That nearly sounds funny.
The article even included the iconic espionage trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, the ITV program Sharpe, and the 1990s political thriller House Of Cards from the BBC.
Inexplicably, it claimed that the far-Right was interested in the BBC program Great British Train Trips, hosted by former Tory minister Michael Portillo.
Andrew Roberts, a historian and broadcaster, said: “This is genuinely amazing. Everyone who desires a civilized, liberal, cultural education should study the books on this list.
It contains some of the finest works in the Western canon and, in certain instances, strong criticisms of terrorism, such as in Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent. The anti-totalitarian authors included Burke, Huxley, Orwell, and Tolkien.
When the whole list was retrieved, author Douglas Murray learned that one of his novels had received a red warning from Prevent.
In The Spectator, Mr. Murray stated: “Some books are singled out, the ownership or reading of which might lead to serious wrongthink and, hence, possible radicalization.” It seems that RICU is so far off course that it thinks that books that identify the issue that it was created to address are really contributing to the issue. He declared the work of RICU to be “pathetic” and demanded “accountability” for its mistakes and “sackings by the score.” After a thorough investigation of the Prevent program by William Shawcross, the list has been released.
His assessment, which was released earlier this month, uncovered severe flaws in Prevent and warned that it used a “double standard” when dealing with threats from the far-Right and Islamic groups. According to the report, the £49 million annual program gave halting far-Right activities priority above combating the main danger posed by Islamists.
According to the study, Prevent looked at Right-wing content that “falls far short of the extremism threshold entirely.”
Prevent, according to Home Minister Suella Braverman, “defined the extreme Right-wing too broadly, including the respectable Right and the center-Right.”
That almost feels like a joke, according to screenwriter Andrew Davies for House of Cards. In reality, House Of Cards was a satirical look at right-wing politics. The majority of the classic literary canon is included on this list, along with some of the greatest British television productions ever.
The Home Secretary made it clear that Prevent would now make sure it concentrates on the primary danger of Islamic terrorism while also being attentive on new concerns, according to a Home Office spokesperson. We committed to defending our nation from the danger of terrorism and have accepted all 34 suggestions.
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