Home Office advertises for extremism commissioner

The Home Office will this week launch a recruitment campaign to appoint a Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism.

The Commission for Countering Extremism, confirmed in the Queen’s Speech, will have a clear remit to identify extremism and advise the government on new policies, laws and other actions that may be required to tackle it. It will also support communities and the public sector to confront extremism wherever it exists and promote British values.

The commission will also help to train schools and colleges to spot the warning signs and stamp out extremism - as they have with racism. And because there is a strong correlation between extremism and the poor treatment of women and girls, the Commission will have a specific responsibility to ensure women’s rights are upheld.

The successful candidate for lead commissioner will advise the Home Secretary on the commission’s future role and shape and agree with the Home Secretary its priorities.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

"This government is committed to tackling extremism in all its forms – as the Prime Minister said after the London Bridge attack earlier this year, enough is enough.

"The new Commission for Countering Extremism will have a key role to play in this fight. It will identify and challenge tolerance of extremism, tackle extremist ideology and promote British values, learning the lessons from the struggle against racism in the twentieth century.

"The Lead Commissioner will head up this vital work and I look forward to working with the successful candidate."