Chris Whiteside for the North

Wishing a happy and blessed Ramadan to Muslims in the UK and around the world 

The Prime Minister has delivered an address on tackling the unacceptable rise in extremism. Recently we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality – including on the individuals and institutions that serve our democracy. This has been underlined by the election yesterday of a man who denies the horror of the October 7 terrorist attack. A central pillar of our society is that change can only come through peaceful, democratic process. Nearly everyone in Britain supports this basic value but there are small and vocal minorities who do not, who instead resort to violence and intimidation. We must not allow this minority to destroy our national self-confidence, and we must be stand up for our shared values in all circumstances, no matter how difficult.  That is why the Prime Minister has made it clear to the police that they must take a zero-tolerance approach to extremist tactics. We will reform how the government deals with extremists. If any organisation is...