Courts could impose new counter-terrorism orders on youths as part of a plan to tackle a growing problem of teenage radicalisation.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the proposed orders could include measures to restrict online activity or require co-operation with the Prevent counter-extremism programme.
The move comes after MI5 chief Ken McCallum issued a warning earlier this year about youths being drawn into “poisonous online extremism”.
Some 13% of all people being investigated by MI5 over involvement in UK terrorism are under 18 years of age.
In the year ending September 2010 there were just three under-18s arrested for terror offences but in the 12 months to September 2024 there were 32.
Some 40% of all referrals to the Prevent programme – aimed at steering people away from terrorism – are for children aged 11-15.
Terror law watchdog Jonathan Hall KC has also warned the profile of alleged terrorists is getting younger and “includes children who may accurately be described as vulnerable”.
Ms Cooper told MPs the new measures were needed to address a “growing proportion of young people who are featuring in anti-terrorism casework”.
She said: “It is clear that while the UK has a robust counter-terrorism toolkit, including measures to prevent the escalation of terrorist risks, those tools are not currently well designed for intervention with young people.
“The Government therefore intends to introduce youth diversion orders – a new counter-terrorism risk management tool specifically designed for young people, building on recommendations from Jonathan Hall KC.
Police will be able to apply to the courts for a youth diversion order, permitting them – in partnership with other agencies – to intervene earlier
“Police will be able to apply to the courts for a youth diversion order, permitting them – in partnership with other agencies – to intervene earlier and to impose conditions such as engagement with Prevent interventions or restrictions on online activity.
“The courts must deem these conditions to be necessary and proportionate to mitigate terrorist risk.”
The Home Office said Islamist terrorism remains the primary threat, followed by extreme right-wing terrorism, and the overall threat picture is changing to include a growing number of young people radicalised online who do not align with a particular ideology but instead have fixations with violence.
Recent Prevent statistics showed most referrals were for individuals with a vulnerability but no ideology or counter-terrorism risk.
Ms Cooper promised changes to the Prevent programme and a new commissioner to oversee how it works.
She told MPs there was “confusion” in the system and it was “not always clear to practitioners what kinds of cases should be dealt with under Prevent”.
“Concerns over low numbers of referrals for Islamist extremism have still not been addressed, and at the same time a lack of clarity remains over whether Prevent should be confined to cases of clear ideology or should also be picking up cases where the ideology is less clear, or where there is a fixation with violence,” she said.
As well as an “end-to-end review” of the thresholds for the programme and a series of other changes, Ms Cooper said the new Prevent tsar would provide oversight.
The new independent commissioner of Prevent will “review the programme’s effectiveness and identify gaps, so any problems can be fixed early”.
The Government also announced funding for counter-terror police will increase by £140 million next year and the UK’s intelligence agencies will have funding increased by £499 million.
