The Home Office secretly financed a British-American boyband to perform in predominantly Muslim communities across northern England as part of a covert counter-terrorism initiative, newly revealed documents show.
The Covert Operation
Between 2016 and 2017, while the Islamic State controlled significant territories in Iraq and Syria, the pop trio known as Mr Meanor toured schools in areas including Sheffield, Manchester, and Runcorn. Publicly, the tour appeared to be organised in partnership with The Tim Parry and Jonathan Ball Foundation for Peace, a Warrington-based charity.
However, financial records obtained by Politics Home reveal the charity received £400,000 from the Home Office's Prevent counter-terrorism programme shortly before the tour commenced. This funding was reportedly labelled 'Panther [programme]' in official accounts.
Campaign Details and Content
The boyband promoted their charity single 'Think About It', which contained direct references to major terrorist attacks. Lyrics mentioned the 9/11 attacks in New York and the 7/7 London bombings, with verses including: '9/11 changes how we view these things, People want to terrorise, And 7/7 left behind more broken lives right before our eyes.'
Communications for the controversial tour were handled by BreakThrough Media, a contractor previously linked to the Home Office's Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), described in past reports as a 'propaganda' arm.
Revelations and Responses
LinkedIn posts from former contractors and internal RICU documents from 2015 reportedly confirm the Home Office's direct involvement in organising both the tour and its accompanying campaign. One visited school, Parrs Wood High School in Manchester, had a former student who travelled to Syria in 2013.
There is no suggestion that any members of Mr Meanor were aware they were being secretly funded by the government. A Home Office spokesperson stated: 'This campaign was delivered under the previous government and has now been discontinued.' The Tim Parry and Jonathan Ball Foundation for Peace has been approached for comment regarding these revelations.
