The Government today issued explicit guidelines aimed at tackling violent Islamist extremism on Britain's university campuses.

A 20-page booklet aimed at university Vice Chancellors and principals of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) advises campus administrators how best to resist extremist groups and preachers attempting to radicalise their students and commit themselves to violent jihad.

The document, following general guidelines issued last year to tackle all forms of extremism among students, contains several "real life" scenarios specifically aimed at targeting Islamism.

As well a definition of "violent extremism in the name of Islam", the guidelines describe various pieces of anti-terrorism legislation that might be relevant to controlling extremist groups.

The specific nature of the advice drew a rebuke from Universities UK (UUK), the association of universities that helped prepare the last guidelines, while a coalition of Muslim students said the document contained little to improve campus relations.

Universities UK praised the guidelines for offering "practical and useful information for staff and students alike on recent legislation" but observed: "UUK’s earlier document focused on all kinds of extremism, not just on extremism in the name of Islam.

"Universities are some of the most diverse communities in the UK, and work hard to ensure community cohesion on campus across all faiths and racial groups. Universities have a duty of care to protect vulnerable groups, and they also have a responsibility to assure all their constituent communities that they are party to fundamental values of free enquiry and free expression within the law."

The scenarios described in the booklet include the invitation of a preacher suspected of justifying terrorist attacks against British civilians; the taking over of an Islamic prayer room; and the radicalising of an Islamic students group, in which moderate members are frozen out and bullied into electing hardline leaders.

In another case, "a member of teaching staff has raised concerns with university authorities about some literature that was left lying around in a university room in which she took a tutorial group.

"Some leaflets were written in English, and others appeared to be in Arabic. She reported that the literature in English had titles such as ‘Who is a legitimate target?’ and ‘From Jihad to a new world order.’"

A separate scenario describes a member of the college library staff watching students using the internet. "She reported that two males were looking at some kind of home-made images of other men dressed in military and civilian clothing holding guns," the guidance says.

"The two men were joined by two others and she could see that they were watching shots being fired and explosions on the computer. The images then appeared to show somebody making a home made explosive device."

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