UK keeps report on extremism funding under wraps, citing security

Opposition politicians accuse government of cover up

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By AP 12 July 2017, 9:07 pm Edit

Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd arrives for a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London, July 4, 2017. (AFP/Daniel Leal-Olivas)

LONDON — British officials say they will not publish a government-commissioned report on extremism funding because its contents are too sensitive.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd says she has decided against publishing the report “because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons.”

She released a summary Wednesday of findings of the review, commissioned in 2015 by then-Prime Minister David Cameron.

Opposition politicians have accused the government of suppressing the report amid speculation that it points to UK ally Saudi Arabia as a source of funds for Islamist extremists.

But, according to Rudd, it says most income for extremist comes from “small, anonymous public donations,” with some groups receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds (dollars) a year. It says “overseas funding is not a significant source” for most.