SEVENTY-eight university students were reported to terror watchdogs in a year amid fears they may become mass killers.
Most of those referred to the Prevent scheme — 56 — were suspected of obsessions with violence and atrocities.
They were deemed to have “no fixed ideology” by the Home Office body which prematurely closed its case on Southport killer Axel Rudakubana despite three referrals after he was also said to lack a “fixed” motivation.
Another 14 Prevent referrals were linked to right-wing extremism.
It follows a string of far-right killings, including the 2016 stabbing murder of MP Jo Cox by extremist Thomas Mair.
The Home Office figures for April 2024 to April 2025 also reveal six cases linked to Islamist extremism — the reason the Prevent scheme was established.
There were two connected to incel extremism, where “involuntarily celibate” men have hostile views on women and often follow toxic online influencers.
Only 13 of the 78 cases were thought dangerous enough for de-radicalisation — but the figure was higher than for any of the previous five years.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK has one of the most robust counter-terrorism frameworks in the world and Prevent plays a vital role in stopping people from becoming terrorists.”
Universities UK said the proportion of Prevent cases from higher education establishments was tiny.
