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Britain 'could face influx of jihadists'

Published on: 16 Oct 2019

Britain could face a sudden influx of jihadists as a result of the recent events in Syria unless it does more to ensure they are prosecuted, an expert has said.

The government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall QC said it is essential for ministers to look at a positive response and ensure they face the full force of the law as part of Britain's international responsibility to counter terrorism.

Security services estimate that as many as 900 Britons have left the UK to fight along the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq since 2012, with half of them returning home having had some kind of terror training. More may now opt to return following the latest action in the Middle East by Turkey.

"In principle, it is right that the UK should shoulder the burden of prosecuting some of these individuals and holding them to account," Mr Hall said.

However, he acknowledged that this could put strain on police and MI5 should many jihadists decide to return all at once.

The comments come after home secretary Priti Patel recently signed an historic UK-US Bilateral Data Access Agreement. It will allow British law enforcement agencies to demand terrorist data directly from US tech firms, rather than through governments, meaning dozens of complex investigations into suspected terrorists could be accelerated each year.