Home Office ends programme to “deradicalise” returning Jihadi brides

The Home Office has ended its contract with a company charged with the task of de-radicalising jihadi brides coming back from Syria. This is as a result of allegations that the owners bullied staff and made excessive profits.

This contract was given to a company called The Unity Initiative and was ran by a GP and her husband who was a cage fighter. Following the awarding of the contract, the Home Office received several complaints.

Many of the allegations centred around ‘bullying and harassment’ of staff. In addition to this it is alleged that the company’s husband and wife brought a five-bedroom home in Surrey last year for £1.2 million.

Over the weekend Government sources confirmed that the Home Office “is ending its relationship with The Unity Initiative (TUI)”. This contract will officially be dead by the end of the week and the Jihadis who were working with the firm will be transferred to other agencies.

The Daily mail claims to have obtained a copy of the letter sent to the Home Office, which was signed by many former employee’s – known in the letter as “Intervention Providers”, that states the IP’s had quit as a result of bullying from the couple or a fear of being criticised if they asked for help. 

However, other more concerning and immediate allegations have been made. It is understood that The Unity Initiative recruited these IPs from a range of backgrounds and unrelated professions which is said to include at least two former minicab drivers with no previous experience or background in deradicalisation work.

One of the former IP’s alleges “There was one guy who could not even string a sentence together, and he was hired”. The source also states that the Home Office was told that at least one former theme park worker was taken on by TUI.

These allegations may be seen as yet another example of Government contracts being misused. This same Home Office source claims that new Home Secretary Priti Patel, had expressed concern about the number of “bad contracts” that had been negotiated by the department with private companies.

These contracts are often highly difficult to get out of and the Home Office was only able to renege on this contract as a result of offering TUI greatly reduced terms which they then walked away from.