A UK anti-extremism strategy has reported a rise in the number of people being referred to it with far-right links.

About one in 10 referrals to the scheme nationwide were linked to the far-right, according to the Prevent anti-extremism group.

Simon Cole, the National Police Chiefs’ council lead for Prevent, said: “They are typically about people who want to do things that destabilise communities.”

The highest regional figure is about 20%, Cole added, saying: “For some parts of the country it is a significant part of their workload.”

Authorities highlighted concerns that the threat from the extreme right could be growing following the conviction of Thomas Mair for the murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox.

Mair, 53, who killed Cox as she arrived to hold a surgery in her West Yorkshire constituency, was handed a whole-life sentence in November.

This month National Action became the first extreme rightwing group to be banned as a terrorist organisation. Being a member of or inviting support for the group is a criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to 10 years.

Cole described Prevent as absolutely fundamental to Britain’s counterterrorism effort.

He argued that the strategy is often presented in hysterical terms, while in reality the process is aimed at supporting vulnerable individuals. The latest figures show that in 2015-16 there were about 7,500 referrals to Prevent.