Firebrand NUS Vice President of Welfare Shelly Asquith has claimed students become radicalised because of British foreign policy and urged people to deliberately break the counter-terrorism law known as the Prevent Strategy.
Speaking at an event on the Prevent Strategy at Queens Mary University London last night, Asquith said: “Are we asking people to break the law? Absolutely, yes.”
She added that while “We are asking the government to change the law … change gonna come from bottom-up”. [sic]
Heat Street has obtained a recording of the meeting, which we reproduce here:
The so-called Prevent Strategy was designed by the government to stop young people from becoming radicalised. It has recently become mandatory for universities to comply with this law and look for signs of radicalisation among their students.
According to British authorities about 850 people from Britain have gone to Syria to fight for Islamist groups. Experts have suggested that the most well-known jihadist, Mohammed Emwazi – aka ‘Jihadi John’ – became radicalised while studying at the University of Westminster in London.
Anti-Prevent activists led by the National Union of Students, however, claim that this policy chills free-speech on campus and has become a ‘state sanctioned Islamophobia’.
Great to speak alongside these guys & so helpful hear QM students' thoughts and experiences of Prevent tonight. We are #StudentsNotSuspects. pic.twitter.com/vQhTbeAoPE
— Shelly Asquith (@ShellyAsquith) September 22, 2016
These were not the only troubling remarks made by the NUS’s Vice President of Welfare last night.
In response to a question about the successes of counter-terrorism policies, in which people were stopped from going to Syria to fight for ISIS, she acknowledged that there are stories confirming this phenomenon. However, she added that she doesn’t think people go to Syria because they “don’t believe in fundamental British values.”
According to her, “perhaps they got problems with British foreign policy, who knows what?”
.@ShellyAsquith every statement on the poster is untrue, Shelly. Do you mind if I ask why you are fabricating information about #Prevent?
— William Baldet (@WillBaldet) September 21, 2016
She went even further when replying to a question about the link between religion and radicalisation – which she thinks doesn’t exist.
She stated: “I do think it’s about people being pushed into poverty, I think it’s about racism, I think it’s about foreign policy, I think it’s about a lack of access to education … I think it’s about resources being moved from some communities and put into other communities, I think it’s about thousands of cameras put into highly Muslim populated areas.”
It remains unclear whether Asquith’s position is shared by the NUS, which has been accused of being soft on terrorism and radicalisation after controversial comments made by NUS President Malia Bouattia who supported the violent struggle against Israel and blocked a motion condemning ISIS in 2014.
Heat Street has asked NUS Vice President Shelly Asquith for a comment. She referred us to the NUS Press Office because she’s “at a freshers fair at the moment.”
Heat Street is awaiting a response from the NUS.
