Compo may have funded jihadists
BRITAIN: The British government is under pressure to prove that some of the £20 million compensation paid to British terror suspects who were held at the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba did not end up in the hands of Islamic State.
A row has ignited following the death of Jamal al-Harith, who received up to £1m compensation before travelling to Iraq, where he blew himself up in a suicide bomb attack.
Terror experts and senior politicians yesterday expressed concern that money paid to alHarith in compensation for two years spent in Guantanamo Bay without being charged had been used to fund Isis.
It emerged yesterday that four of the 17 British detainees thought to have been paid compensation have been accused of links to Islamist groups or individuals in Syria.
One of the men went on a trip with ‘‘Jihadi John’’, the hostage killer, to Portugal less than a year after the compensation deal was granted, while another has seen three of his nephews fight in Syria.
Downing Street declined 17 times to answer questions over the payment to al-Harith, 50, a Muslim convert born Ronald Fiddler, on the grounds that it was ‘‘an intelligence matter’’.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been dragged into the scandal over what she knew about the deal when she was home secretary and in overall charge of MI5, Britain’s domestic security service.
Lord Carlile QC, Britain’s former terror law watchdog, said: ‘‘I hope that what [al-Harith] did with the money was the subject of careful monitoring, something on which we are entitled to some reassurance from the authorities.’’
Lord Carlile, who said the payment should never have been made, added: ‘‘I am concerned about the monitoring of money received by people who have been identified as terrorists. I would hope that the money was followed with care to avoid large sums being paid over to terrorist groups.’’
May is also facing questions over how al-Harith was able to evade border controls to travel to Syria in 2014. It is not clear if he was on a terror watchlist when he left for Syria via Turkey in order to join up with Isis.
Former prime minister Tony Blair, who negotiated al-Harith’s release from Guantanamo, waded
"I hope that what [al-Harith] did with the money was the subject of careful monitoring." Lord Carlile QC, former terror law watchdog
into the furore by blaming the Coalition government, which included May, for striking the deal.
‘‘He was not paid compensation by my government,’’ Blair said.
A former police and security chief urged authorities to explain what checks were put in place on how the compensation paid to alHarith, and the other former detainees, was spent. None of the British detainees were ever charged with terror offences.
Chris Phillips, a former senior police officer who headed the government’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, a police unit that worked within the security services, said: ‘‘I am almost certain the money given to al-Harith has been frittered into the coffers of Islamic State. The British taxpayer has effectively funded terrorism.’’
Tim Loughton, a senior Conservative MP on the Home Affairs select committee, said: ‘‘We may be funding weapons that are being used against us - is there any prospect of claiming £1 million back from his estate?’’
Al-Harith’s family yesterday issued a statement insisting his payment was nothing like as large as the reported figure of £1m. They said he had shared the sum with three other detainees.
A law firm acting for the family said: ‘‘The Jamal they knew up until 2001, when he was taken to Guantanamo Bay, would not have become involved with a despicable organisation such as so-called Islamic State. He was a peaceful and gentle person.
‘‘Whatever he may or may not have done since then, they believe from their own experience he was utterly changed by the physical and mental cruelty and the inhuman treatment he endured for two years.’’