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Taxpayers' Alliance slams UK Govt's wasteful cost on tackling violent extremism | The TaxPayers' Alliance has criticised the lack of accountability in the use of hundreds of thousands
of pounds of taxpayers' money for tackling violent extremism. This includes several "dubious" projects, including a 200,000-pound grant for the BBC. Campaigners have
said as figures showed the Foreign Office gave out more than £10 million in 2008/09
as part of the "Prevent" strand of the Government's counter-terrorism strategy.
It represented 74 percent of the £14.2 million of grants given out by the Foreign
Office under the Contest strategy. According to the Daily Express, figures showed
the Foreign Office grants included £205,300 to the BBC for an Afghan Women's Hour
project for the BBC World Service which looked at gender issues and women's rights.
A total of £127,740 went to the Foreign Office's counter-terrorism department
for a programme aimed at promoting moderate Islam, more than £100,000 went to
the Al-Azhar University in Egypt for a study exchange and university programme,
and more than £10,000 to the private Bahcesehir University in Turkey for an "intercultural
dialogue project" on extremist messages. Matthew Sinclair, research director of
the TaxPayers' Alliance , said: "Taxpayers' money has been given to dubious projects
and there is little accountability for this spend. The scheme is unpopular with
all community groups and has poor results - far too much money has been spent
on what is no more than an expensive social experiment. "The Government now needs
to scrap the entire Prevent strategy and focus on our police and intelligence
services to combat violent extremism," he added. |
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