Lawyer who wants jihadis spared

THE terror watchdog was accused of a ‘reckless disregard’ for society earlier this year after he called for ‘naïve’ teenage jihadis to be spared prosecution.

Max Hill, the independent reviewer of anti-terror laws, said militants returning from the Islamic State war zone should instead be given space to reintegrate.

The top lawyer warned against losing a generation of young men and women brainwashed by online propaganda.

He said those who returned in a ‘state of utter disillusionment’ could be ‘diverted’ from the criminal justice system. Mr Hill, who took the role in February, said travelling to Syria should not always mean prosecution.

He said: ‘We should be looking towards reintegration and moving away from any notion that we are going to lose a generation due to this travel.’

But a top RAF commander said last month that the idea that British jihadis who travelled to the IS war zone did not know what they were doing was ‘fanciful’.

Air Commodore Johnny Stringer said UK jihadis had made themselves ‘valid’ targets by going to the war zone.