Twenty-one years after 7/7, Britain is still failing to confront Islamism – opinion

Twenty-one years after the 7/7 London bombings, which killed 52 people and injured over 770, Britain is still struggling to confront Islamism, according to an opinion piece. While operational counter-terrorism efforts have seen progress, with 39 late-stage attacks disrupted since March 2017, the ideological and sociological aspects of the CONTEST strategy, particularly the "Prevent" program, are deemed a failure. The 2023 Shawcross Review highlighted "timidity" around Islamist extremism, noting that while 80% of live counter-terrorism investigations were Islamist, only 22% of Prevent referrals in 2020/21 concerned Islamism. Despite a record 8,778 Prevent referrals in the year ending March 2025, only 17% led to intervention. The article argues that the government's reluctance to directly confront Islamist ideology, often due to fears of Islamophobia, allows for the normalization of antisemitic rhetoric and leaves the public "at risk."