Treasury Minister Emma Reynolds has firmly rejected suggestions that the Home Office is acting as a “left-wing think tank” following controversy over a leaked report that classified concerns about two-tier policing as “right-wing extremism”.
Speaking to GB News, Reynolds emphasised that ministers do not agree with the report’s findings.
“Let me just say this is a leaked report that ministers do not agree with, so I wouldn’t set much store in it,” she told the programme.
The minister clarified that Islamic extremism and right-wing ideology remain the government’s main priorities for police and counter-terrorism efforts.
Emma Reynolds reacted to a leaked Home Office report
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Reynolds stressed that as a democratically elected government, ministers “call the shots” and have rejected the report’s recommendations.
“We will set out a more considered and comprehensive view of extremism in due course,” she added.
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The leaked Home Office “Rapid Analytical Sprint” review suggested the UK should shift its approach to tackling extremism from focusing on ideologies to targeting concerning behaviours.
The report controversially listed claims of “two-tier policing” as an example of right-wing extremist narratives “leaking into mainstream debates”.
It also described grooming gangs – referred to as “alleged group-based sexual abuse” – as an issue exploited by the far-right to promote anti-Muslim sentiment.
Among its 38 recommendations were proposals to increase police use of non-crime hate incidents and introduce a new crime of “harmful communications”.
Emma Reynolds joined Eamonn Holmes and Ellie Costello on GB News
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The review identified a “more diverse” range of extremist beliefs, including anarchists, environmental protesters, and those involved in an online subculture called the “manosphere”.
Policy Exchange think-tank experts warned this approach risks overwhelming counter-terrorism resources with thousands of new cases.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp strongly criticised the report’s broad approach to extremism.
“By extending the definition of extremism so widely, the Government risks losing focus on ideologically motivated terrorists who pose the most risk to life,” he warned.
Philp expressed particular concern about the report’s treatment of grooming gang concerns, stating: “I’m appalled that the Government is once again smearing as ‘far right’ those who raise concerns about young girls being gang raped.”
He emphasised that Islamist terrorism has been responsible for 94 per cent of terrorist-caused deaths in the last 25 years.
“The Government may want to ignore this, but they have an overriding duty to protect the public,” Philp added.
He argued that other criminal behaviour should be handled through existing police, criminal justice, and social services channels.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The counter-extremism sprint sought to comprehensively assess the challenge facing our country and lay the foundations for a new approach to tackling extremism – so we can stop people being drawn towards hateful ideologies.”
“This includes tackling Islamism and extreme right-wing ideologies, which are the most prominent today,” they added.
The spokesperson confirmed that the findings from the sprint have not been formally agreed by ministers.
They emphasised that the government is “considering a wide range of potential next steps arising from that work.”
Security minister Dan Jarvis has also confirmed that ministers had rejected the advice contained in the report.
The Home Secretary has announced plans for an end-to-end review of the Prevent programme, amid concerns that current thresholds are too low.
