Home Office offers £100,000 for Isis propaganda firewall in counter-terrorism drive

The UK government is offering up to £100,000 ($151,097, €140,938) to charities and other organisations that can create a filter to "protect key sectors", such as schools, from the brutal online propaganda of the Islamic State (Isis), among other pilot proposals. The project is funded through the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, part of the Home Office.

The body is looking for "innovative proposals" to protect Britain from IS and other Islamic terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and its associated groups. The scheme is part of the government's Prevent Strategy, which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

"The vast majority of people want nothing to do with Isis. But some can be misled by the propaganda and a few are being persuaded to join Isis in Syria and Iraq," the government warned.

The Office for Security and Counter Terrorism said it would particularly welcome proposals for pilot projects on "developing new methods and/or developing new technologies with a potential for replication nationally" and for "technical solutions to protect those in key sectors from terrorist content online".

The competition call, which will close on 2 December, comes after the Foreign Office launched its "UK against Isil" Twitter account in August in a bid to combat the terrorists on social media.

#DefeatingDaesh #NoToDaesh pic.twitter.com/HzdgsvijAB

— Think AgainTurn Away (@ThinkAgain_DOS) October 30, 2015

The militants continue to maintain a foothold in Iraq and Syria and have been linked to the bombing of the Sinai airliner in Egyptian airspace on 31 October. The Egyptian authorities have now launched an investigation into claims that a bomb downed the plane as it embarked on its flight to Russia, leaving 224 people dead.

The tragic incident left thousands of Britons stranded in the Egyptian resort as flights were halted amid fears of further terrorist plots. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned that there is still a "high threat" from terrorism in the region.

"There is a significant possibility that the crash was caused by an explosive device. As a precautionary measure, we are now advising against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh," the ministry said.