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Saudi Arabia has 'clear link' to UK extremism

A new report by the Henry Jackson Society has contentiously claimed that Saudi Arabia is the chief foreign promoter of Islamist extremism in the UK.

Foreign Funded Islamist Extremism in the UK, which urges the need for a public inquiry into the foreign-based funding of Islamist extremism, argues that there is a ‘clear and growing link’ between Islamist organisations in receipt of overseas funds, hate preachers and Jihadist groups promoting violence.

The report authors claim that foremost among these has been Saudi Arabia, the UK's closest ally in the Middle East and biggest trading partner, who is providing financial support to mosques and Islamic educational institutions which have played host to extremist preachers, linked to the spread of extremist material.

There have been numerous cases of British individuals who have joined Jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria whose radicalisation is thought to link back to foreign funded institutions and preachers.

The UK's Saudi Arabian embassy says the claims are ‘categorically false’.

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