Fear terrorists go free as suspects are sent back to UK without warning

TERROR suspects are being deported back to the UK without the knowledge of the British authorities, the Daily Express can reveal today.

Some countries fail to disclose if a UK national is linked to terrorism when sending them home, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes admitted. This means they could be free to walk the streets unless they are already known to the police or being monitored by British intelligence.

The Government claims to have strong counter-terrorism partnerships with many nations, but critics want tougher laws to prosecute people who have travelled to terror hotspots like Syria and Iraq.

Ms Nokes said: “The Government does not hold a complete data set relating to individuals deported to the UK since UK nationals are not as a matter of course subject to immigration controls on arrival.

“In addition, not all countries will disclose that they are deporting an individual to the UK or that there is a terrorism concern relating to them.”

Dominic Grieve, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, said: “There is quite a high level of co-operation between countries.

Concerning

“The EU is a great facilitator of this, and there’s co-operation with lots of other countries which leads to them telling us they have arrested a British national and are sending them back.

“But the co-operation needs to be improved as much as possible.

“There are some countries, usually those with very poor human rights records, where communication is very difficult.”

John Woodcock, a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said it was “concerning” some countries were not sharing information and suggested partnership agreements be forged “to break down barriers”.

He said: “There is a huge amount of criticism from certain quarters about Britain’s relationship with countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“But they are two examples of co-operation over terror that help keep the British public safe.”

More than half of the 850 British fighters who joined Isis have since returned and Mr Woodcock wants jihadis to face tougher sanctions.

He said: “Ultimately the vulnerability of the public lies in the fact our counter-terrorism laws are not strong enough to convict many of the people who have been up to no good abroad.

“For example people who have been to Iraq or Syria. We know they have been there because they have been picked up by one of the neighbouring countries coming over the border.

“It is pretty obvious they weren’t there for a holiday.”