HUNDREDS of people attended a conference organised by a Keighley-based family law firm to educate people about the menace posed by radicalisation.

The topical event, called Radicalisation and Safeguarding Children and Young People, was staged last Thursday by Makin Dixon, which has its offices in Cavendish Street.

Among the speakers were former chief crown prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service for North West England, Nazir Afzal; MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah; and professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, Paul Rogers.

Mr Afzal campaigns to stamp out radicalisation and has extensive experience in prosecuting terrorism offences.

Prof Paul Rogers has worked in the field of international security, arms control and political violence for more than 30 years.

He talked about the origins of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group, arguing an understanding of where this organisation has come from can help people understand extremism and how to tackle it.

Jane Campbell, a partner with Makin Dixon, who also spoke at the conference, thanked everyone who contributed to it. She said about 350 people attended the event at Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford.

"It was a really successful event," she added. "The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and some really good, thought-provoking questions were put to the panel of experts.

"The response from everyone on the panel was that the answer to radicalisation has to come from the community, as opposed to the Government handing down a strategic plan.

"We need to focus on young people and on engaging those who are currently disengaged.

"The whole panel, including myself, encouraged people working with children and young people to be brave and to have those difficult conversations about radicalisation. We need to talk about these issues and be aware of them."

She said the people in the audience had been from a very diverse range of professions, and included doctors, nurses, health visitors, teachers, imams, members of the clergy and teachers.

Also present on the day were psychiatrists, people from domestic violence agencies, prison workers and youth workers.

This was the latest in a series of annual conferences Makin Dixon has organised, with previous events focusing on issues such as child sex grooming, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.