Britain is the weak link in counter-extremism network of Europe

Countering terrorism is like placing a bucket below a leaking roof when we only have so many buckets. You need to fix the roof and that means getting up into the rafters to fix the broken structure. But the UK has no strategy. Its current counter-extremism strategy was adopted five years ago; it’s now obsolete in the face of an evolved enemy.

Islamism is, after all, a political ideology — it is the engine room that powers the greatest terror threat facing the west. It is the mantra that guides Isis, Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Its aim is to achieve an Islamic state, either through armed struggle or political action. If you choose not to see this ideology, you are unable to recognise its threat.

Britain should learn from the Netherlands — my home country — and France and Germany where we have mobilised formidable Muslim leaders to debate and challenge Islamism in public. Europe is only as strong as its weakest link.