Extremism report reveals some Islamist groups are posing as charities to increase their credibility
But the long-awaited full review is being kept secret for reasons of national security says Home Secretary Amber Rudd
EXTREMIST Islamist groups in Britain are pretending to be charities in a bid to mask their sinister activities.
And they reap hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in donations, most commonly in small amounts from individuals.
The alarming findings came in a long-awaited government report on how suspect groups are funded.
But Home Secretary Amber Rudd faced anger last night after she refused to publish the full document.
It was widely expected to have embarrassed Saudi Arabia, by naming millionaires in the strict Muslim country as another major key cash source for extremist groups here.
But Ms Rudd instead only released a very brief summary of it, claiming to say any more would damage national security.
The report was commissioned by then PM David Cameron in November 2015, as part of a terrorism deal with his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg.
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron branded the decision to keep it secret as “utterly shameful”.
Mr Farron added: “We cannot tackle the root causes of terrorism in the UK without full disclosure of the states and institutions that fund extremism in our country.
“It seems like the Government, yet again, is putting our so-called friendship with Saudi Arabia above our values.”
The Henry Jackson Society security think tank added: “We would have hoped that the Home Secretary would have provided far more detail on both groups receiving this funding and also where extremist foreign funding is originating from.
“We are surprised that specific countries of concern, such as Saudi Arabia, were not called out.”
The report also found that for a small number of dangerous groups, overseas funding from countries such as Saudi is a “significant source of income”.
And overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach “deeply conservative forms of Islam”.
To cover up their extremism, some of them are deliberately vague about their activities and their charitable status.
Ms Rudd said the Charity Commission will be introducing a requirement on charities to declare overseas funding sources.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Diplomatic relations played absolutely no part in the decision not to publish the full report”.