At last! Law to ban returning jihadis is used for first time
‘Tools to track extremists’
POWERS to ban British jihadists from returning home after fighting with Islamic State have been used for the first time.
The Daily Mail revealed last week that Temporary Exclusion Orders, introduced by David Cameron two years ago, had never been used.
But yesterday Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed in an interview with the BBC that ‘we have started to use them’.
It is understood that only one has so far been imposed.
Mr Cameron acted amid fears that battle-hardened terrorists with British passports were heading home intending to bring bloodshed to the streets.
Initially, the then prime minister wanted to ban them from returning. But the plan was watered down after being savaged by MPs and legal experts for being unlawful, as it would effectively leave British citizens stateless.
Instead, he introduced the exclusion orders, which last a maximum of two years and make it illegal for a fanatic to return to the UK without informing the authorities and agreeing to be monitored.
Introduced in February 2015, it addressed a gap in the powers which meant British jihadis could not be prevented from coming home under international law after fighting overseas.
Miss Rudd admitted the authorities did not know how many Britons had returned from fighting with IS or other extremists in Syria.
Security sources say about half of the 850 Britons who are thought to have gone to fight have come back – trained in the use of explosives and firearms as they took part in the group’s murderous rampage.
Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi is reported to have travelled to Syria from his parents’ home in Libya before flying back to the UK to commit last Monday’s atrocity.
Miss Rudd said: ‘We don’t know the exact number [who have returned]. What we do know, in engaging with the intelligence services and with the police and with the Border Force, we make sure that they have the tools to track them and to keep them out where we can.’
Meanwhile, Tarique Ghaffur, a Muslim who was an assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard when the July 7 bombings took place, suggested that as many as 3,000 suspected jihadists should be locked up in internment camps to prevent them from launching attacks and to undergo a deradicalisation programme.
He said taking dangerous individuals off the streets would ensure they could not murder and maim.
Mr Ghaffur, once Britain’s most senior Asian officer, said: ‘These would be community-based centres where the extremists would be risk-assessed. Then the extremists would be made to go through a deradicalisation programme, using the expertise of imams, charity workers and counter-terrorism officers.
‘These centres would have oversight from vetted Muslim and other community leaders, who would ensure they stayed within the law.’
Last week Lord Blair, the ex-Scotland Yard chief, said internment for potential jihadists could fuel anger and grievance among the country’s Muslims, whose cooperation is needed to root out terrorists.