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Readers of our splash today - Chaos in Whitehall over counter-terrorism plans- may be interested to read more on the rift between ministers and civil servants in Andrew Gilligan’s comment piece in this morning’s Telegraph.
Gilligan claims the split is turning into a “massive Whitehall row” that could become as important to Britain as fixing the deficit.
I would advise those with an interest (so to speak) in Islamism and counter-extremism to read the whole piece here but for those with less time I’ve highlighted Gilligan's, er, highlights, below:
Our new ministers appear to be moving towards a clear and obvious policy, of no official support for Islamism. But they face surprising resistance from the people supposed to carry out their wishes: the Civil Service... There are, in Whitehall, a number of senior officials and paid ministerial advisers who are sympathisers of Islamism.
There is no suggestion that these officials are themselves revolutionaries, or that they support violence or terrorism. They believe that reaching out to non-violent Islamists reduces the security threat, and promotes broader community cohesion. This belief is fundamentally naïve and wrong.
Revolutionaries cannot be tamed by meetings with ministers, posts on committees or taxpayers' cash. They can only be strengthened. Britain's Islamist groups are largely self-appointed and represent almost no one. Their principal importance is that which has been gifted to them by the British Government.
Britain faces the biggest Islamist threat of any Western country. That is part of the reason why ours is the only Western nation to have come under suicide attack from its own citizens.
Islamism is the Muslim equivalent of the BNP. Like them, it shouldn't be banned, or persecuted – just utterly shunned…Thank God our politicians seem to understand this. And if their officials don't get it, they should just get out.
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