David Cameron’s anti-extremism strategy has failed, says former Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg

Prevent programme that makes public sector report signs of 'radicalisation' has been criticised for alienating Muslims

David Cameron’s Prevent strategy aimed at stopping young Muslims turning to extremism has failed, the former Guantanamo inmate Moazzam Begg has said.

Prevent, the controversial programme that obliges those who work in the public sector to report signs of potential "radicalisation", has been criticised for alienating the Muslim community.

Speaking to the Independent, Mr Begg said 11 pieces of anti-terror legislation passed by the British Government in recent years have “almost de facto exclusively affected Muslims”.

He describes the impact Prevent has had on one NHS worker, who, he claims, was harassed by police and sectioned under the Mental Health Act because she started to wear a hijab to work.

“But Prevent has gone beyond that. It’s a failed strategy,” he says.

“There is now a statutory duty for individuals within the public sector to report who they have deemed to have been extreme.

“How does a prime minister who refuses to recognise the causes of extremism have the right to determine what extremism is."

Mr Begg was detained in Guantanamo in 2002 after being accused by the US of being a recruiter of Al-Qaeda. He was released without charge three years later. He was then charged in March 2014 with providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas. On 1 October the same year, the charges were dropped and he was released.

He is director of outreach for Cage, the London-based pressure group that sparked controversy earlier this year when it described the Isis executioner “Jihadi John” as a “beautiful young man”. The group has since admitted it made mistakes in dealing with the case.

Watch the full video above in which Mr Begg criticises Mr Cameron; questions the UK’s involvement in secret rendition programmes; and defends Cage’s position on their description of the Isis militant “Jihadi John” as being a “beautiful young man” before he turned to extremism