THE JIHADIS ON OUR STREETS
A record number of highly trained extremists plotting attacks, MI5 warns
BRITAIN is f aci ng an ‘unprecedented’ threat from Islamists trained in terrorism overseas, MI5 has warned.
In evidence submitted to the inquiry by David Anderson QC, it said the number of extremists who had visited a training camp or fought alongside jihadis was higher than at any point before or after 9/11.
They include 700 Britons who have travelled to Iraq and Syria, half of whom are now back in the UK and could be plotting attacks.
There are also a ‘ significant number’ of fanatics in the UK who were trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan, East Africa and Yemen, Whitehall officials say.
This is a major factor behind the current threat level standing at severe – meaning an attack is highly likely, according to sources. Some of the travellers were unknown to MI5 before they went.
The Anderson report warns: ‘The threat posed on their return comprises not just attack planning but radicalisation of associates, facilitation and fundraising, all of which further exacerbate the threat.’
It continues: ‘The volume and accessibility of extremist propaganda has increased. UK-based extremists are able to talk directly to Isil (Islamic State) fighters and their wives in web forums and on social media. The key risk is this propaganda is able to inspire individuals to undertake attacks without ever travelling to Syria or Iraq.’
The report reveals that, in the past nine months, MI5 has disrupted two attack plots by so-called lone wolves, ‘both in the late stages of preparation.’ But it cautions: ‘MI5 have explained that identifying such individuals is increasingly challenging, exacerbated by the current limitations in their technical capabilities.’
Since the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby, 25, in south- east London, two years ago, police have foiled a number of serious terror plots.
But it was revealed last month that senior Scotland Yard officers fear troubled teenagers are being groomed online by the flood of Islamic State propaganda.
Street gang members previously involved in knife crime and muggings are forming Islamist cells and even trying to co-ordinate international plots.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, Britain’s most senior counter- terrorism officer, said the number of people of ‘significant concern’ to have travelled to the war zone had passed 700. He said there was a ‘fairly even balance’ between those who stayed in Syria and those who had come home.
An analysis by the Metropolitan Police reveals a steady increase in terrorism arrests since the Syrian conflict began in 2010.
Separately, the Anderson report reveals how MI6 and GCHQ officers can take advantage of a ‘James Bond clause’ when operating overseas. Details are kept deliberately vague but the clause allows officers to use techniques which would otherwise ‘be criminal offences or give rise to civil liability’.
GCHQ had f i ve so- called s7 authorisations in 2014, removing liability for activities including interference with computers, mobile phones and other types of electronic equipment. MI6 had eight authorisations, removing liability for activities such as directed surveillance.
‘Propaganda is
a key risk’