A defining moment as ministers update what counts as extremism

Ministers are set to unveil a new definition of extremism this week but will it ease tensions in society or risk inflaming them further? Kate Devlin looks at the plans

Communities minister Michael Gove is set to publish a new government definition of extremism.

The announcement comes at a sensitive time, with tensions high in the Middle East, pro-Palestinian marches on the streets and MPs under intense pressure to call for a ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.

More than a decade ago, in 2011, the government’s Prevent strategy defined extremism as the “active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.