RISING numbers of people with Far Right views and vulnerable people radicalised in their own online “echo chambers” are some of the issues Bradford’s Prevent team deal with on a regular basis.

The anti-extremism policy proved controversial when it was first introduced, with many saying it unfairly targeted certain communities.

But the Bradford Prevent team has recently been praised for its work, and how it had successfully engaged with the District’s Muslim community.

The team gave an update of the programme at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee last week.

They told members that the number of people being referred to the service for far right views was rising, and that it could be “difficult to engage” with the communities these views develop within.

Michael Churley, Prevent Co-Ordinator, told the meeting a number of programmes had proved successful in Bradford, including sessions in schools, in mosques, and even to encourage mothers to watch for the signs their children are falling prey to people drawing them into extremism through the internet.

Councillor Simon Cooke (Cons, Bingley Rural) pointed out how the Prevent programme had met with a large amount of resistance, particularly in the Muslim community, when it was first introduced. He said: “It is a sign how much the programme has matured. If you think where we were five or six years ago where there was this community resistance, it is a credit to you guys that we now have this positive engagement with the community, particularly the Muslim community. Credit to you for sticking to it.”

And Chair of the Committee Councillor Nazam Azam (Lab, City) said: “Some excellent work is being done.

“Initially there was resistance to the programme, but your approach locally has been different, you really work with the community. There is a lot of good work being done in the Madrassas and Mosques.”

Explaining the dangers of online extremism, Mr Churley said: “Online space can be a key risk.

“Algorithms online influence what messages people get on their social media feeds. Someone might have an interest in some extreme right stories and then their feeds will link them to similar stories or pages. It creates an echo chamber so they think their views are normal. It can be a real risk.”

Councillor David Green (Lab, Wibsey) said: “As a Council I don’t think we have the power to influence Google to change algorithms, but this is something we need to be aware of.”

Mr Churley told the Committee there had been some people from the district who had travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight, and there was the possibility these people could return. He added: “We have quite substantial plans in place if that does happen.”

He said the service had worked well with mosques in the district, adding: “We don’t go in and say ‘this is bad.’ It is about going in and saying: ‘this is what Islam teaches about how violence is wrong.' A lot of that was already being done in Mosques anyway.”

He said recent incidents including the Christchurch terror attack and an attack on a number of mosques in Birmingham had raised the danger of Far Right extremism.

He added: “It is not linked to one particular group. Over the last few years there has been a range of nationalist groups that share an anti-Islam/anti-immigrant viewpoint. They are often set up as anti-terrorism groups or something like that, but it doesn’t take them long to move towards an anti-Islamic movement.

“Globally we are seeing an increase in the Far Right.

“There has always been a presence of the Far Right in the Bradford District, but it is growing.”

He said funding had been secured to help places of worship increase their security if needed.

Cllr Green said: “We need to get to people before they are being referred to Prevent. How are we stopping people falling into this in the first place?”

He was told that numerous events, such as Big Get Togethers, were organised in the district to bring communities together.

Cllr Green responded: “The people who are most at risk aren’t likely to come to the things you organise.

“If little Johnny Miggins is flirting along the edges of Right Wing extremism he won’t be coming to an integration event.”

Mr Churley said the service had been granted funding for the coming year that would allow youth workers to train with reformed Far Right extremists to learn how to spot the signs of extremism in young people.

Councillor Cath Bacon (Lab, Keighley) asked if the Prevent team were having to change strategies now Far Right extremism was becoming more common.

Mr Churley replied: “With the engagement programmes we often find it harder to get engagement from white working class areas. It is harder to get people involved in our programme.

“But some of our programmes show that when you do get people involved, they stay engaged.”

Facebook recently altered its algorithms to change what people see on their pages.

The company said: "With this update, we will prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people. To do this, we will predict which posts you might want to interact with your friends about, and show these posts higher in feed. These are posts that inspire back-and-forth discussion in the comments and posts that you might want to share and react to – whether that’s a post from a friend seeking advice, a friend asking for recommendations for a trip, or a news article or video prompting lots of discussion."