Record terror arrests as jihad plotters stay at home

POLICE arrested a record number of terrorist suspects last year, as fewer would-be Isil jihadists head to the Middle East and instead decide to stay at home to plot attacks.

The number of arrests in Britain jumped by nearly a fifth, with 304 people held in the year until the end of March.

The figure was the highest since records began in 2001 and three quarters of the arrests were for international terrorism, most of which were linked to Islamist extremism.

Stops made at ports and airports under counter-terrorism powers fell sharply as fewer people tried to leave the UK to join Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil), the Home Office said.

But the number of Right-wing extremists arrested rose to a record high after a neo-nazi group called National Action in December became the first extreme-right group to be banned as a terrorist organisation.

The surge in far-right extremism led to a jump in the number of white people being arrested, up from 68 to 113.

The Home Office released the latest figures as police and MI5 have said they are dealing with an unprecedented threat from Islamist terrorists planning attacks in the UK.

Fewer jihadists are heading to Iraq or Syria as Isil’s self-styled caliphate shrinks in the face of an international campaign backing Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian rebel forces.

As the caliphate has dwindled, jihadist propaganda has encouraged wouldbe terrorists to remain at home and carry out attacks on civilians. A Europol report yesterday warned: “Ongoing contact on social media between combatants in Syria/iraq and ‘stay-at-home jihadists’ fuels the enduring potential threat posed by jihadist networks; now that leaving the country to take part in jihad has become more difficult, wouldbe attackers may indeed shift their focus to their countries of residence.”

The Home Office figures include 12 arrests made as part of the investigation into the Westminster attack in March. All were released without charge and told they would face no further action. Since then, there have been two more deadly attacks, in Manchester and London Bridge, while counter-terror agencies have foiled five alleged plots.

After the Manchester attack, police and MI5 said they were dealing with an unprecedented threat and were running 500 investigations involving 3,000 individuals at any one time.

There were also 20,000 former “subjects of interest” whose risk must be kept under review.

♦ A new documentary will show the moment Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood arrived at a London hospital in the aftermath of the attack, which saw him drive into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing Pc Keith Palmer.

Masood, 52, was shot by police and was the first casualty to arrive at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, where he was pronounced dead.

A camera crew filming BBC Two’s Hospital were at St Mary’s on March 22 and captured the mortally wounded Masood being stretchered in. Shortly after his arrival, a member of staff is heard saying: “The first one is RIP.”