Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hotline calls surge after latest atrocities
THERE’S been a spike in calls to the anti-terrorist hotline since the Manchester bombing and London Bridge attacks.
Although police won’t reveal the exact number of extra calls, they are exceeding the previous average of 420 a week.
The hotline urges the public to report anything suspicious, warning: “You may feel it’s probably nothing, but unless you trust your instincts and tell us, we won’t be able to judge.”
Meanwhile, there are concerns in Whitehall about the effectiveness of Europe’s terrorist earlywarning system which let London Bridge knifeman Youssef Zaghba, 22, slip through the net.
A senior Whitehall source said: “There are questions which need to be answered.”
The Moroccan-Italian was stopped at Bologna airport last year with a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey. IS propaganda was found on his mobile, and he told Italians detaining him: “I am going to be a terrorist.”
The Italians say they tipped off British authorities about him, yet he was still able to travel here and get a job in a London restaurant.
The alert came through the Schengen Information System, known as SIS2 in intelligence circles, which Britain signed up to in October 2014. But there are worries that the requirement for member states to only inform authorities in other countries is not specific enough.
Checks are now being made to see whether the warning about Zaghba went to the right place.
MI5 is also conducting an internal review of procedures.
You can call the anti-terror hotline on 0800 789 321