Isis Beatle ‘Jihadi Paul’ faces return to UK within days
ONE of Islamic State’s so- called ‘Beatles’ terrorists could be back on British streets within days after being freed from a Turkish jail.
Aine Davis, 38, from London, faces being arrested by counter-terror police when he lands in this country, the Daily Mail understands – but there are also fears he could then go free.
He was part of a terror cell dubbed ‘the Beatles’ thanks to their British accents by Westerners they held hostage. US authorities say they tortured and beheaded 27 hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning in 2014.
Davis, known as ‘Jihadi Paul’, is due to be deported by authorities in Istanbul on July 9 after serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for terrorism offences.
It remains unclear whether UK prosecutors will be able to bring charges against Davis here – raising the prospect of him being able to walk the streets under a ‘terrorism prevention and investigation measure’, which would let the authorities restrict his movements, limit who he can associate with and track him using an electronic tag.
Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of counter-terrorism think-tank the Henry Jackson Society, said the case highlighted the need for changes to anti-terror laws.
‘A dangerous jihadist is heading back to the UK after a career of extreme violence and we can do nothing about it except spend vast sums to monitor him,’ he said. ‘We need urgent reform of legislation to ensure national security threats like this are dealt with far from these shores.’
Davis is likely to face intensive questioning by detectives about his activities and associates when he arrives here.
Mr Henning’s brother, Reg, said last night that Britain should deny him entry. ‘ He’s British when it suits him,’ said Mr Henning, of Bury, Greater Manchester. ‘ He left to join Islamic State, but is thinking “I’ll go back to Britain because they’re nice and soft”.’
Davis was convicted of being an IS member in 2017, two
‘British when it suits him’
years after being arrested in Istanbul. Prosecutors accused him of being a ‘high-ranking operative’ of IS. But he denied being in the group, claiming he had been in Syria for aid work.
At the time he was the subject of an Interpol red notice from British police after his wife, Amal el-Wahabi, was jailed here for 28 months for trying to send him 20,000 euros. His link to that case means he could be prosecuted for preparing acts of terrorism abroad, which can lead to life in jail.
The leader of the Islamic State Beatles, Mohammed Emwazi, or ‘Jihadi John’, was killed by a US drone in Raqqa in 2015. The others, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, are in a US jail after being caught by Kurdish forces.