Terror offenders to be barred from working with children under David Cameron's new counter-terror strategy

New counter-extremism strategy will see people convicted of terrorism treated like sex offenders to protect young people

Services will be given new powers to ensure anyone with a conviction or civil order for terrorist or extremist activity is automatically banned from work with children (AFP/Getty)

People convicted of terrorism or extremism will be treated like sex offenders and automatically barred from working with children and vulnerable people, David Cameron will announce today.

Launching the Government’s new strategy to combat extremism, the Prime Minister will pledge that the Government will do more to protect young people from radicalisation.

“I have said before that defeating Islamist extremism will be the struggle of our generation. It is one of the biggest social problems we need to overcome,” Mr Cameron will say.

“A key part of this new approach is going further to protect children and vulnerable people from the risk of radicalisation by empowering parents and public institutions with all the advice, tools and practical support they need.”

The new plans will see the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) given new powers to ensure anyone with a conviction or civil order for terrorist or extremist activity is automatically banned from working with children and vulnerable people, in the same way as those convicted of sexual offences are banned from working with children.

Parents will also be given greater powers to remove their children’s passports if they fear they are at risk of taking part in extremist activity overseas, in an expansion of measures introduced in July, under which parents have had the right apply to the Passport Office to cancel the passports of children under 16 suspected of extremism. 16 and 17-year-olds will now also be covered by the rule.

Responding to the counter-extremism strategy, Andy Burnham, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, said: "This is the greatest challenge of our age and the Prime Minister is right to devote his focus to it. For our part, we will always support measures that are reasonable, proportionate and evidence-based”