Alwaght- Opposition parties in Britain have condemned the government for failing to publish a report into the funding and support of extremist groups, saying the decision appeared intended to protect Saudi Arabia.
Home secretary, Amber Rudd, said the move was based on national security and claimed that the full report contained sensitive and detailed personal information.
Announcing the decision in a written parliamentary statement, Rudd instead published a 430-word summary of the report.
However, the summary did not name the countries of origin for such funding or mention Saudi Arabia or any other nations.
But Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said this did not go far enough, and the public “has a right to know if any governments, foreign or domestic organizations or individuals are funding extremism in this country”.
“Instead, there is a strong suspicion this report is being suppressed to protect this government’s trade and diplomatic priorities, including in relation to Saudi Arabia. The only way to allay those suspicions is to publish the report in full.”
Caroline Lucas, the Green co-leader, who has campaigned for the report to be published, said the refusal to do so and the “utterly vague statement” in its place was unacceptable.
She added: “The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from – leaving the government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, said the decision to not publish the report was “utterly shameful”.
He said: “Instead of supporting the perpetrators of these vile ideologies, the government should be naming and shaming them – including so-called allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar if need be.”
Last week, Saudi Arabia was been described as the "foremost" financier of terrorism and extremism in Britain.
A report published by the Henry Jackson Society links several Saudi charities and organizations to a growth in the number of British citizens becoming radicalized and leaving the country to fight for the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
The report noted that the form of education advanced by such organizations promotes a hardline Wahhabi ideology endorsed by the Saudi monarchy.
