Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sadiq Khan launches new fund with Google to fight extremism

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday (14) launched a new £800,000 fund alongside Google to fight violent extremism and hate crimes in the British capital.

The Shared Endeavour Fund, funded equally by Google UK and the Mayor's City Hall office, will be run by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue for grassroots organisations to bid for tiered grants of up to £50,000 ($65,001).


Khan made reference to the most recent attack in London in November last year, when a convicted terrorist went on a knife rampage to claim two victims on London Bridge, and warned about the impact of Brexit as the January 31 deadline nears.

The London Mayor launched the new scheme at the Google UK headquarters in London.

"Extremism, intolerance and hate crime of any kind has absolutely no place in our city and I have worked closely with the police and all communities across London as we battle against this scourge," said Khan.

"Sadly, we have also too often seen extremism on our streets with the horrific terror attack in London Bridge in November last year as well as homophobic, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents. We know that leaving the EU will raise tensions and bring new challenges that is why it is so vital we empower our communities to help deliver change now," he said.

Rowan Barnett of Google said that keeping the online community safe was the group's "top priority".

"As part of this commitment, Google.org supports solutions that fight hate and extremism at a local level which help foster positive change in the UK. We believe communities and grassroots programmes are an incredibly important part of the effort to encourage collaboration, cooperation, and sensitivity across London," he said.

Organisations such as registered charities and community groups have until March 22 to pitch for funds as part of the new initiative.

They would be considered eligible if their projects satisfy some key outcomes such as directly countering the promotion of hateful, intolerant and extremist messages and content, both online and offline, or raising awareness around the issue and empowering communities in their fight against harmful content.

Khan has called on tech firms to make flagging harmful content on social media platforms easier and get it removed faster. He is also planning to create a network of civil society groups who can share best practice as they make a bid for the new funds.

The most recent UK Home Office data, released last October, found there were a record 103,379 hate crime offences in 2018-19, which is an increase of 10 per cent compared to 94,121 in 2017-18 and more than double from 42,255 since 2012-13.

While the majority of hate crimes recorded by police forces in England and Wales were racial in nature (78,991), religious hate crimes also marked a hike over the past year.

More For You

indian-illegal-workers-arrested

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to over 800 premises

Getty Images

Over 600 arrested for working illegally, 73 per cent increase from last year

UK immigration enforcement teams made over 600 arrests in January, a 73 percent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the new Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday.

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to over 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.

The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

Singh is charged with “assault with sexual motivation” (Photo for representation: iStock)

Indian man arrested in US for alleged sexual assault

AN INDIAN national is among four persons arrested by US immigration authorities over charges related to sexual assault.

Jaspal Singh, 29, an Indian citizen was arrested on January 29 in Tukwila, Washington.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

Andrew Gwynne (Photo: UK parliament)

Starmer sacks minister over WhatsApp messages

A Labour party lawmaker said he regretted "badly misjudged" comments after prime minister Keir Starmer sacked him as a minister.

It is the latest bump in the road Starmer's government has hit in its first seven months in power despite a landslide election victory in July last year.

Keep ReadingShow less