Hate preacher ‘guilty of treason’

A new treason law should be drawn up to deal with terrorism, a former justice minister has told the Lords.

Lord Faulks, a QC, said hate preacher Anjem Choudary should be “guilty of treason” along with Jihadi brides. The Conservative peer spoke up during a debate on new counterterrorism measures.

A NEW treason law should be drawn up to deal with terrorism, a former justice minister has told the Lords.

Lord Faulks, a QC, said hate preacher Anjem Choudary should be “guilty of treason” along with dozens of so-called Jihadi brides, women from Britain who travelled to Middle East conflict zones to marry Islamic militants.

The Conservative peer said he wanted to add the offence during a debate on new counter-terrorism measures.

“Those who live and benefit from life in the UK and yet involve themselves in attacks against the UK, either here or abroad, are surely guilty of treason,” he said.

“Are we too timid to call it that? Is it because allegiance to our country is considered unfashionable? If so, that seems to verge on the decadent or at the very least it shows a country lacking in selfconfidence.

“Those who reject the values of his country have the option to relinquish their citizenship, but while they remain here or regard it as their home, surely they owe a duty to other citizens, who have their own human rights.

“This new definition of treason is a way of underlining that duty.”

Lord Faulks spoke of treason prosecutions for Jihadi brides, who already face arrest, questioning by police and de-radicalisation courses.

He said: “Prosecution, it’s said, will be difficult, particularly against the many women involved – the so-called Brides of Jihad – who will claim duress or in other ways try to distance themselves from what others may have done.”

The Tory peer also spoke against the “inadequate sentence” for Anjem Choudary, who was convicted and jailed for encouraging support for Isis, saying the state should not have to pay to monitor him on his release.

He said: “What he did was undoubtedly a betrayal of his country. He acted as a recruiting agent for groups that intended to and have caused attacks on the UK.

“He should be guilty of treason.”

However, Labour justice spokesman Lord Kennedy of Southwark said he was “not persuaded” a new offence of treason was necessary.

“I think there is ample opportunity to prosecute terrorists,” he said.

Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford said there was ongoing work in the department “to examine whether there are further gaps in our law to help us to counter hostile state activity”.

The call comes days after police funding for fighting terror was boosted in the Budget following warnings about forces’ capacity to contain the threat.

But the Budget did not include any commitment to raise funding for wider policing.

Philip Hammond committed £160m to ensure the number of specialist officers working to investigate and stop attack plots is maintained.

It means the ring-fenced counter-terror police budget will total more than £800m next year.

The increase was confirmed days after the head of the national counter-terror police network said operations are running “red hot”.

Police and MI5 are mounting a record 700-plus live terrorism investigations.

There are said to be around 3,000 active “subjects of interest”, plus a wider pool of more than 20,000 individuals who have previously featured in inquiries.

Britain was hit by five deadly terrorist attacks last year, while police and the security services have foiled 17 terror plots since March 2017.

I think there is ample opportunity to prosecute terrorists. Labour justice spokesman Lord Kennedy responding to Lord Faulks.