UK refuses to publish report on 'funding of extremism'

The British government has announced that it would not publish in full its report on the sources of "funding of extremism" in Britain, prompting opposition charges it was trying to protect its ally Saudi Arabia.


British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Wednesday that though some "extremist organisations" were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, she had decided against publishing the review in full.

"This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons," she said in a written statement to parliament.

The report, commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2015, was handed to the government last year, and ministers have been under pressure to release its findings following three deadly attacks in Britain since March, which have been blamed on violent armed groups.

The review found the most common source of support for these organisations was from small, anonymous donations from people based in Britain, Rudd said.

But it also found overseas funding was a significant source of income for a small number of organisations.

"Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UK's Islamic institutions," Rudd's statement said.

"Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern."

Critics were quick to see a cover-up to shield Saudi Arabia, a powerful Gulf ally of Britain.
 [aljazeera.com]
12/7/17