THE Prime Minister took a bold step this week with a speech on deterring extremism.
I say bold because it was aimed, in the main, at multiculturalism and its effect of segregation.
Ideally, we would all like to live together harmoniously, but reality is a little different and dares not speak its name for fear of causing offence.
And it’s that fear, Mr Cameron said, that has led the police and social services to mistakenly hold back when they should have intervened.
The appalling abuse of young girls in Rotherham and the death of Victoria Climbie are sobering examples.
Political correctness has muddied the waters further.
Trevor Phillips, former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, has described multiculturalism as a “racket”.
He also warned that the country was “sleepwalking towards segregation” after the 2005 London bombings, carried out by young, British Muslims.
Ten years on, sadly, the situation has deteriorated further.
Mr Cameron said estates divided along racial lines mean that children risk growing up without any “meaningful contact” with those from other backgrounds.
That does not lead to a cohesive society and leaves impressionable young people vulnerable to extreme influences.
And we know that hundreds of them, radicalised on-line in their own homes and local mosques, are now fighting in Iraq and Syria.
Mr Cameron said they were treated as mere “cannon fodder”, while girls are forcibly ‘married’ off, sex slaves in all but name.
He added that it was wrong and unhelpful to deny any connection between Islam and extremism.
Mr Cameron promises action, while safeguarding everything we hold dear, for extremism is unacceptable in our islands and sometimes intolerance has to be dealt with head on.