Jihadi TV drama ‘a recruiting tool for IS’

A CONTROVERSIAL new drama about four British jihadis will encourage others to join Islamic State, a former British Army chief warned last night.

Channel 4 aired the first episode of four-part series The State on Sunday to an audience of 1.4 million, despite the daughter of executed British aid worker David Haines urging TV bosses to delay it.

The story by Peter Kosminsky follows four radicalised Britons who leave their homes to join the terror group in Syria.

Characters described life fighting for IS as “super- cool” and branded Britain a “dump”.

Colonel Richard Kemp, ex-head of the Cabinet Office counter-terrorism team, called the show “as good an English-language jihadist recruiting video as any I’ve seen”.

Warning that it could encourage people to join fanatics fighting the war in Iraq and Syria, he said: “There will be people who have never thought about joining IS or other jihadist groups before but having seen that may think it is for them.

Murder

“I’m told in subsequent episodes you can see some of the most violent scenes broadcast on television in the UK. The idea that will put people off is deeply flawed as many of the people who go to fight do so because of the horrific beheading and mass murder videos put out by IS itself.”

He added: “I’d say the people who produce the show are responsible for future terror attacks... It’s not the intention but there’s a culpability.”

Bethany Haines, 20, whose father David was beheaded by IS, was among viewers who called for The State to be delayed in the wake of the Barcelona attack.

She said: “The last thing those families need is a drama about Islamic State on TV at the same time their lives have effectively been torn apart by that group.”

Regulator Ofcom said it had received nine complaints about the drama.

Channel 4 said: “The State, based on extensive factual research, provides an unflinching insight into the horrific realities of life under Isis in Raqqa. It explores in depth the cruel reality of the characters’ experiences of life in Syria, and at no point does it endorse nor encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Though it is a difficult and challenging subject, we believe it is more important than ever to confront these urgent issues.”