Today (Friday 8 March), the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in the case of Dr Salman Butt who challenged the Prevent Duty Guidance.
The Court agreed with the Home Office in four out of five grounds in the case, including that the Prevent Duty Guidance did not breach Dr Butt’s freedom of speech rights. The unsuccessful element of the case concerns one paragraph in the Guidance but this does not render the Prevent Duty itself or the rest of the Guidance unlawful.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
We are delighted that the court has agreed with us on the majority of the grounds in this case. Prevent is a vital part of our counter-terrorism work which safeguards vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism and since 2012, over 1,200 people have been successfully supported.
We will consider the implications of the court’s judgment relating to a single paragraph of Prevent duty guidance for universities.
Further lines:
The unsuccessful element of the appeal concerns a single paragraph in the Prevent Guidance and does not render the Prevent Duty itself or the rest of the Guidance unlawful.
The Home Office will consider the judgment in relation to one paragraph of the Guidance. Additionally, we have already committed to reviewing the Prevent Duty Guidance and this will be made available in due course.