Daily Star

BRITISH JIHADIS GET FREE COUNCIL HOUSE

Fury at ‘bribe’ given to terrorists

- By HELENE PERKINS news@dailystar.co.uk

BRITISH jihadis returning from Syria could get rent-free council houses in the hope it will stop them attacking us.

Critics said all jihadis should be locked up not rehoused.

JIHADIS returning from Syria are set to be given council houses in a bid to stop them attacking Britain.

They could leap to the top of the housing waiting list under the secret government plans.

And the fighters will also be offered other sweeteners such as job hunting help and counsellin­g.

Operation Constrain is set to be rolled out next year but has been blasted by critics.

Security expert Professor Anthony Glees, of Buckingham University, said: “You can’t bribe people not to be terrorists.”

And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen added: “This sounds like a reward for being on a list of potential terrorists.”

Official documents reveal that up to 20,000 extremists investigat­ed by MI5 will be given “bribes” to stop them attacking the UK. But Foreign Office Minister Rory Stewart, inset, said most of Islamic State’s “hateful doctrine” posed a serious danger to the UK and its fighters should be killed. Operation Constrain will see police and social workers contact people already on MI5’s databases. A Whitehall source said: “We are planning a number of pilots to explore the best way to divert such people from terrorism and extremist activity.” Terror hotspots for suspects include Birmingham, Manchester and London. Extremists without suitable homes will be offered social housing help and given the opportunit­y of support if they are poor. A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is committed to doing everything possible to protect our communitie­s from the threat of terrorism.”

 ??  ?? SECRET: Fighters could be first in line for council homes
SECRET: Fighters could be first in line for council homes
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom