Cameron Begins Extremism Crackdown as Cash Withheld from 'Suspect Groups'
THE GUARDIAN: • Funding cut to Muslim bodies after PM speech
• Steps to combat rise of radicalism in universities

The government has already started to withdraw state cash from what it regards as suspect Islamist groups that had previously been funded to reach young Muslims at risk of being drawn to terrorist networks. New, tougher criteria are being applied, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being withdrawn from specific groups after it was deemed they were too soft on Islamic extremism.

Ministers are also awaiting a report in the next fortnight from a Universities UK working group, which has been in preparation for a year, on how to combat Islamic extremism on university campuses.

The working group, including eight vice-chancellors, was established in response to the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the US for an attempted act of terrorism. Abdulmutallab studied at University College London between 2005 and 2008.

The report is likely to call for greater rigour in the selection of speakers and stronger oversight of religious societies. University vice-chancellors have been accused by thinktanks such as Quilliam, a Muslim counter-extremist group, of being complacent about the radicalisation that is taking place in higher education.

Today, it was being stressed by the government that David Cameron's call for a more "muscular liberalism" to combat home-grown terror, made in a speech in Munich on Saturday, was not simply rhetorical. It would lead to practical changes, including the wholesale review of the Prevent strategy set up by Labour. >>> Patrick Wintour and Jenny Percival | Sunday, February 06, 2011