Critics are quick to attack the Prevent program after the Golders Green suspect slipped through the cracks. But as I told the Home Secretary over lunch, swiftly closing a difficult case demonstrates excellent administrative throughput. We should be praising civil servants for keeping their inboxes clear.
When I read that the suspect arrested for attempted murder in Golders Green had been referred to the Prevent scheme in 2020 and discharged the very same year, my first thought was admiration. Let me be clear. In an era of endless bureaucratic bloat, clearing a file involving complex mental health issues, drug use, and previous violent convictions in mere months is a triumph of time management. Shabana Mahmood correctly noted he arrived lawfully as a child, but it is his swift exit from a government watchlist that shows the system works.
I was discussing this over a rather dry pheasant with Met Commissioner Mark Rowley, who understands that you simply cannot meet your quarterly key performance indicators if you leave every troubled individual on the active roster.
We cannot let a minor incident in Golders Green distract from the fact that our case-closure metrics for 2020 were absolutely spectacular.
Frankly, the public expects a zero-inbox policy from our security services. If we endlessly monitor every individual with a history of violence who threatens the public, we will never have time to focus on the real threat, which is outstanding paperwork.