KILL MOST UK JIHADI FIGHTERS, SAYS TOP MINISTER

BRITONS who fought for Islamic State in Syria will have to be killed in almost every instance, an international development minister said yesterday.

Rory Stewart said members of the terror group supported an “extremely hateful doctrine” and that fighters should expect to die, given the threat they pose to British security.

Describing the “very difficult moral issues” involved, he said: “These are people who have essentially moved away from any kind of allegiance towards the British Government.

“They are absolutely dedicated, as members of the Islamic State, towards the creation of a caliphate.

“They believe in an extremely hateful doctrine, which involves killing themselves, killing others and trying to use violence and brutality to create an eighth century state. So, I’m afraid we have to be serious about the fact these people are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them.”

Approximately 850 people from the UK have travelled to support or fight for jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, the British authorities have said.

About 250 are thought to have returned to the UK.

Mr Stewart was responding to comments from Brett McGurk, a top US envoy for the coalition of forces fighting IS, who said his mission was to ensure every foreign IS fighter in Syria dies in Syria.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics, he continued: “These are people who are executing people in the back of their heads, who have held women and children hostage, who are torturing and murdering, trying by violence to impose their will.

“Our response has to be, I’m afraid, to deal with that.”

Former diplomat Mr Stewart’s comments echo those made by French defence minister Florence Parly, who told a radio show last week that “if the jihadis perish in this fight, I’d say that’s for the best”.

She added: “We cannot do anything to prevent their return besides neutralise the maximum number of jihadis in this combat.”

Mr Stewart, MP for Penrith and The Border, also stated that British authorities had made it “very clear” that people should not be volunteering to fight against IS. He said: “If you wish to serve your country and you wish to fight terrorism, then please apply to join the military or join the police or join our intelligence services.

“We’ll train you, we’ll work with you to do it in a legal and controlled fashion.”

Mr Stewart spoke out days after Max Hill, QC, an independent reviewer of terror legislation, was criticised for saying British jihadis should be given time to readjust to normal life and not face immediate prosecution if they return to the UK.

Describing many of the fighters as “naive” teenagers, he suggested that if they were not “left space” by security services, Britain could face a “lost generation”.

But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said there should be “serious consequences” for anyone who joins an extremist terrorist group.

HOW refreshing to hear a government minister speak forthrightly about how we should deal with Britons who go to Syria to be jihadi fighters. Kill them, says the minister for Africa. He says they no longer have allegiance to Britain and are a real and present danger.

Mr Stewart served as an officer in the Black Watch so he has one big advantage over the liberal handwringers in Parliament whose hearts bleed every time a drone dispatches another jihadi to paradise – he knows what he is talking about.

Given the chance, those we spare will not hesitate to return to our shores and murder us. They have forfeited any right to mercy.