Shabana’s Panopticon: Labour’s Extremism Reporting Scheme Targets Universities and Muslim Charities

London — The Labour government’s announcement of a new “extremism whistleblowing service” for university staff is the latest iteration of the UK’s long-running surveillance architecture.

Presented as part of a wider “social cohesion” agenda, the policy will enable university staff to report colleagues or students directly to regulators over alleged extremism concerns while expanding regulatory scrutiny across the charity sector. This move is likely to deepen the already disproportionate targeting of Muslim charities. In reality, this measure entrenches a society-wide model of surveillance in which civil servants, educators and now wider society are encouraged to double as extensions of the state’s policing apparatus.

For over a decade, policies such as Prevent have normalised the idea that ordinary professionals must monitor the thoughts, beliefs and political expression of those around them. This new whistleblowing mechanism deepens that culture of suspicion, recruiting the public to act as informants in the name of “social cohesion” and preventing “terrorism”.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has expressed her desire to use AI and technology to create a "panopticon" system for state surveillance in the criminal justice system . Here she is developing a network of spies and informants’ strategy favoured by authoritarian regimes . In East Germany by 1989, The Stasi managed a system that included over 91,000 full-time employees and an estimated 173,000 to 200,000 "unofficial collaborators" (IMs). Including occasional informers, some estimates suggest there was one spy for every 6.5 people, making it one of the most comprehensive surveillance apparatuses in history.

Whilst many lament the destruction of the international rules based order - few are alive to the damage that Labour and Shabana are doing to the fabric of British society – the education and not for profit sectors are no longer free spaces but are being turned into areas where the state will encourage suspicion, spies and fear so that it monitors and targets any opinions and causes it opposes.

We call on the trade union, academic and student movements to unite in preventing the implementation of Shabana’s panopticon nightmare in sectors vital to any free and fair society.

The Charity Commission already has a documented history of disproportionately targeting Muslim-run charities. Strengthening these powers under the banner of “counter-extremism” only deepens a pattern in which Muslim organisations are singled out for scrutiny and sanction.

Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE International, said: 

“Despite repeated claims about equality and cohesion, the reality is that counter-extremism policies in the UK have served to strengthen the state’s coercive powers and legitimised Islamophobia across society.” 

“Labour is desperately seeking relevance and is utilising the tried and tested policy of exploiting fears and prejudices of Muslims for political gain.” 

Background

• CAGE has long documented the impact of the UK’s counter-extremism framework, particularly the Prevent strategy, on Muslim communities and civil society.
• In its report “The PREVENT Strategy: A Cradle to Grave Police State”, CAGE documented how Prevent expanded surveillance into everyday life - from schools and universities to healthcare and community spaces - effectively monitoring beliefs and ideas rather than acts of violence. 
• The report “Failing Our Communities: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Prevent” compiled real-life cases of individuals and organisations affected by the policy, highlighting concerns about discrimination, lack of transparency and the chilling effect on open debate. 
• CAGE has also documented how counter-extremism frameworks rely on vague and subjective definitions of “extremism” and “radicalisation,” which can easily encompass legitimate religious practice, political views or community activism.
• In “Separating Families: How Prevent Seeks the Removal of Children,” CAGE presented evidence of how counter-extremism narratives have been used in family court proceedings involving Muslim families. 

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Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

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