Michael Gove has named a string of organisations that could be barred from government funding and meetings under a controversial new definition of extremism.

       The communities secretary used his announcement on Thursday to namecheck five groups, including three Muslim organisations, which he said would be investigated over extremism fears.

       The blacklisted groups will be barred from funding and prevented from meeting ministers and civil servants under the plans. But Mr Gove insisted the reform will not impact those “exercising their proper right to free speech”, including gender critical campaigners, those with conservative religious beliefs, trans activists or environmental protest groups.

       The groups he named were:

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       Mr Gove told the Commons: “Organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain, which is the British affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other groups such as Cage and Mend (Muslim Engagement and Development) give rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and views.”

       He added: “We will be holding these and other organisations to account to assess if they meet our definition of extremism and will take action as appropriate.”

       He described The British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative as neo-Nazi groups.

       The communities secretary had been forced to defend his controversial plans to name and shame new “extremist“ groups amid claims the policy threatens the “fabric of a civilised society”.

       His plans came under criticism from a number of Tory MPs in the Commons.

       Former home office minister Kit Malthouse MP said he “shared some alarm” with fellow members about the extremism definition as he raised fears that there was no right for a group to appeal their inclusion on the list.

       He also questioned Mr Gove over whether the government would refuse to engage with an MP if they decided to engage with one of the blacklisted groups. Mr Gove said the plans were “only about government, parliament is quite rightly sovereign”.

       Robert Jenrick, another former Tory minister, said that the new definition “lands in no man’s land” of neither being strong enough to tackle true extremists nor protect contrarian views.

       While Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said the definition risked criminalising “or at least chilling the speech of people who have perfectly legitimate, harmless views”. She raised the example of gender critical feminism, which she said she thought might be labelled as extremist under the new plan.

       Sir Edward Leigh also told Mr Gove that he was “worried about this”. He defended people’s right to offend others through free speech and said that “people have the right to criticise religious people or particular religions”.

       Mr Gove responded saying: “I couldn’t agree more”, adding that the new definition did not intend to limit free expression of views.

       The new plan has come under fire from three former home secretaries and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said that the plans risk “disproportionately targeting Muslim communities” and threaten the “right to worship and peaceful protest – things that have been hard won and form the fabric of a civilised society.”

       But, addressing the Commons, Mr Gove said: “It’s not intended to prevent people demonstrating per se, absolutely not.

       “It’s not a restraint on free speech. It applies only to engagement with government, because we know that there’ve been cases in the past where individual extremist organisations have sought to take advantage of government patronage, money and influence in order to advance their agenda.”

       He said the purpose of the new definition was to make clear that goverment “will keep these organisations at arm’s length so they can’t benefit from access to government and its funds.”

       Mr Gove insisted groups would only be deemed extremist after “a patient assessment of the evidence” and if they showed “a consistent pattern of behaviour”.

       MEND have been accused of being a front for Islamic extremism after a review of the government’s counter-extremism programme found the group had “a well-established track record of working alongside extremists” and of “seeking to undermine the state’s considerable efforts to tackle all hate crime”.

       Mr Gove has inisted the new definition of extremism is necessary to crack down on the “pervasiveness of extremist ideologies” that have “become increasingly clear” in the aftermath of the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.

       Earlier this month Rishi Sunak warned the UK risked descending into “mob rule” as he warned the police must take urgent action or risk losing public confidence. At the time the prime minister pledged to do “whatever it requires to protect our democracy”.

       Under the new definition, extremism is now defined as “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance” that aims to “negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” or “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights”.

       The government also says the new version of extremism will “clearly articulate” how extremism is “evidenced” through the public behaviour of extremists.

       If implemented, the new measures would see the named groups barred from engaging with ministers and government officials, while individuals who are part of the groups will be banned from receiving honours or public appointments.

       Government officials insist that the new definition sets a “high bar” that will only capture the most concerning activities.

       As well as not receiving funding or meeting with ministers, extremist groups or individuals will be barred from public appointments and from receiving honours.

       The government published the extremism definition on Thursday and civil servants will now spend the next few weeks deciding which groups fit the criteria.

       Mr Gove said an expert team of civil servants advised by academics would carry out a “very rigorous process of due diligence” to decide whether a group was extremist or not, with the final signoff from either the Home Secretary and Mr Gove himself.

       CAGE International, Palestine Action and Black Lives Matter UK have called for the “abolition of the authoritarian and repressive infrastructure of laws built on the back of counter-terror and counter-extremism powers.”

       In a joint statement, they said Mr Gove’s announcement is a “continuation of the decades-long strategy aimed at inciting and exploiting fears against Muslims to build an authoritarian and repressive infrastructure that suppresses any dissent that is not licensed by Whitehall” and said they will “explore all avenues, including legal, to challenge the Government’s deep dive into authoritarianism.”

       The Muslim Association of Britain have said they “strongly condemn” the government’s announcement, calling it “an egregious assault on civil liberties and a blatant effort to stifle dissenting voices under the guise of countering extremism.”