Simcox out as counter-extremism commissioner in Home Office shakeup
Robin Simcox looks set to be replaced as the British government’s commissioner for countering extremism as part of a major shakeup at the Home Office.
In a statement on Friday, the Home Office also said it had abolished the role of independent adviser on political violence and disruption.
That post had been held until recently by Lord Walney (John Woodcock), a former Labour MP now sitting as an independent peer in the House of Lords.
But the Home Office said the work previously undertaken by Walney would now form part of the work of the Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) with a strengthened remit.
It announced open competitions to appoint Simcox’s successor, and a new permanent independent Prevent commissioner to review the government’s controversial counter-terrorism strategy.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the creation of the new Prevent role last month amid criticism of the programme after it was revealed that a teenager who killed three young girls in Southport had been referred to it three times as a schoolboy.
The government has appointed Lord David Anderson, a former independent reviewer of counterterrorism legislation, to the role on an interim basis.
In a statement, security minister Dan Jarvis thanked Simcox and Walney for their work.
“To continue our fight against extremism and terrorism in whatever form they take we need expert advice and oversight. The role holders will be crucial in those efforts, and I look forward to working with the successful candidates,” said Jarvis.
Simcox was appointed commissioner for countering extremism on an interim basis in March 2021, replacing Sara Khan who had held the post since it was created by the former Conservative government in 2018.
He was appointed to the post permanently in 2022. The Home Office said his three-year fixed term would end in July.
"The appointment of a new commissioner will also be announced in due course." the Home Office said.
Simcox was considered a controversial appointment because of his previous work for think tanks accused of promoting Islamophobia.
He was supportive of a contentious review of Prevent by William Shawcross, which was widely boycotted by human rights and Muslim community organisations, and was subsequently tasked by the previous Conservative government with overseeing complaints about Prevent.
This was also controversial because the original remit of the commission did not include oversight of Prevent.
But a charter under which the commission originally operated was removed from the government’s website in 2023, and it appears to have been operating without one ever since.
Last month, Middle East Eye reported that the commission was soliciting complaints about Prevent from anonymous far-right social media accounts.
Walney’s tenure as a government adviser on political violence has also been contentious.
Last year, MEE reported that a dossier of evidence he presented to the Home Office on threats made against MPs during last July’s general election was compiled from unsubstantiated and partisan social media posts.
He accused pro-Palestine demonstrators who have marched regularly in London since the start of the war in Gaza of belonging to a "far-left subculture", and called for defence companies and energy providers to be protected by tougher anti-protest laws.
Protest organisers accused him of using his position "to further his political disagreements" with teh cause of Palestinian rights, and of making recommendations that would "seriously undermine long-held democratic principles".
In comments on social media on Friday, Walney again called for restrictions on pro-Palestine protests.
"At a time of increasing threats and intimidation, we must do more to protect our democracy and its MPs from organised coercion, and the public from the menace of extreme protestors," he wrote.
A job description for the role of commissioner for countering extremism posted on the government’s website on Friday described its responsibilities as including “providing the government with impartial, expert advice and scrutiny on the tools, policies and approaches needed to tackle extremism”.
It said: “The Commissioner for Countering Extremism will also take on responsibility for providing challenge and scrutiny to the government on political violence and disorder. This is a new aspect to this role.”
A job description for the role of Prevent commissioner indicates that it will take responsibility for a Prevent standards and compliance unit which was originally set up within the CCE.
It said the commissioner may need to “invite challenge from Prevent’s critics”, and suggested that reports produced in the role would “inform public policy around how counter-terrorism interacts with integration, public health, faith and communities”.
Prevent has been repeatedly criticised over years by human rights and civil liberties groups including Amnesty International, Rights and Security International and Liberty over concerns that it disproportionately targets Muslim communities.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
