Parents urged to be vigilant of children's online activity

Counter Terrorism Policing London is urging parents to be vigilant about their children's online activity, with many buying phones and tablets for Christmas.

Referrals to Prevent in London have increased by more than a third (38 per cent) in the last year. This increased has mainly been driven by a record number of referrals due to concerns about the vulnerability to radicalisation of children under the age of 18. 

Many children referred to Prevent have no identifiable ideology, but they have accessed terrorist-related content online, or developed a fascination with extreme violence they have found via internet searches or social media.

There has also be an increase in children being arrested for terrorism-related activity over the past four years. According to the latest figures from the Home Office, there was a record-high number of terrorism arrests for those aged 17 and under in the year ending June 2025.

Warning signs parents should look out for include children becoming more isolated from friends or family, speaking as though they are reading from a script or being secretive about who they are meeting or speaking to online.

Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, who is the Met’s London Prevent Co-ordinator, said: “I know lots of children will receive new phones or tablets this Christmas, with many purchased over the coming weekend’s sales, so it’s vital that parents are setting appropriate controls to ensure their children are kept safe on their devices.

“It is extremely concerning to see more and more young people in our caseload, who are accessing extremist, violent and terrorist-related content online.

“That is why we need both parental and public help with this – to protect children from encountering this type of material in the first place and to prevent them from disappearing into dark and dangerous spaces online.

“As well as setting parental controls on devices, I’d also urge parents and carers to take an active interest in their children’s digital lives to try and ensure they don’t become drawn towards this kind of material. And if you do have concerns, then the best thing to do is ACT Early and reach out to us for help – before it’s too late.”