UK Allows 5 Terrorists to Slip out of Country

Local Editor

At least five British terrorists linked to the same extremist group frequented by the man suspected of being the new "Jihadi John" executioner left the UK in the last 20 months despite being on bail or subject to travel bans.

Records show that the five men, three of whom have since been killed in drone or air strikes in Syria and Pakistan, all succeeded in evading exit checks despite being on watch lists or having surrendered their passports to the authorities.

Relatively, the ability of the known extremists to flee under the noses of police and the security services will increase the pressure on the Government to tighten monitoring of individuals known to be at risk of travelling to Syria after Siddhartha Dhar slipped out of Britain to join "ISIS" while on police bail for suspected terror offences.

The five men were all linked to al-Muhajiroun, the banned extremist group whose rallies were frequently attended by Dhar, 32, and other associated organizations.

For its part, the anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate, which revealed the five cases, said the number of prominent radicals succeeding in leaving the country raised serious questions about the state of Britain's counter-terrorism controls.

Besides, coordinator for the organization, Nick Lowles said: "We have a situation where at least four individuals who were on active bail and must have been known to the authorities as a flight risk have managed to leave Britain."

"Given all six were linked to banned organizations like al-Muhajiroun, there must be very serious concerns about the apparent ease with which individuals who wish Britain harm are leaving the country," he further added.

Nevertheless, UK Home Secretary Theresa May has been forced to defend the Government's record on controlling terror suspects following the publication of the "ISIS" execution video, acknowledging that more than 800 UK nationals of concern to the intelligence services have travelled to Syria.

Moreover, under new powers introduced in February, police can now temporarily seize the passports of individuals suspected of travelling to engage in terrorism abroad.

Source: The Independent, Edited by website team