Manchester colleges agreed to share data of students referred to counter-terror scheme

Exclusive: secretive agreement drawn up with help of counter-terror police and DfE

Colleges in Greater Manchester entered a secretive agreement to tip off universities when an incoming student had been referred to the government's programme for stopping people from becoming terrorists, the Guardian can reveal.

Further education and higher education institutions in the area drew up the data-sharing agreement in the last two years with the help of counter-terrorism police and the Department for Education (DfE) to share details of students referred to Prevent.