Cameron to pass new laws to counter British-born Islamists
Prime Minister David Cameron will announce fresh anti-terror legislation to counter the threat posed by homegrown jihadists, having raising the UK's terror threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’ over recent events in Iraq and Syria.
The announcement, based on negotiations between Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition partners, is expected around 14:30 GMT. It is likely to include measures to block British nationals fighting with IS (formerly ISIS) militants from re-entering the UK, where they pose a terrorist threat.
In an effort to control the flow of British-born jihadists traveling to and from Iraq and Syria, the new measures will allow intelligence agencies to access airline passenger data. The government also plans to intensify its intelligence sharing with Turkey and Germany.
Signs of coalition tensions were highlighted, however, when former Lib Dem leaders criticized Cameron's decision to raise the terror threat rating. Negotiations between Cameron and the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have sought to balance security concerns against the protection of civil liberties.
Conservatives have called for new powers to seize passports from fighters and impose temporary travel bans on fighters returning to the UK, while leading Lib Dems have questioned the move’s legality under international law.
UK nationals suspected of involvement in terrorist acts will likely be allowed to keep their British citizenship under the proposals. Meanwhile, the coalition partners are seeking agreement on plans to tighten up terrorism prevention and investigation measures (TPIMs), the successor to control orders.
On Friday, Britain’s terror level was officially raised from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’. In a statement, Cameron called the IS a “greater and deeper threat to our security than we’ve seen before.” He said there are “gaps in our armory” that would need to be filled with new legislation “to keep our people safe.”
The upgraded alert was put in place by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) - a subset of Britain’s Security Service (MI5) dedicated to analyzing intelligence relating to global terrorism. According to MI5, Britain has not faced such a serious risk of terrorist attacks since 2011.
Around 30 UK citizens every month are now traveling to Syria and Iraq across the frontier, in a journey dubbed the ‘Jihad Express’. About 500 British citizens are believed to have gone to Syria to join militant groups, though some have estimated that figure could be up to three times higher.
The king of Saudi Arabia warned at the weekend that terror groups would attack Europe in the next month unless they were confronted with “power and speed.”
In a public statement, Home Secretary Theresa May said on Friday the “increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West.”
“Some of these plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have traveled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts,” she added.
source: http://rt.com/uk/184224-britain-law..._medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
................................
Canada needs to take a page from the UK's handbook..
Harper shouldn't be worried about offending the Islamic vote, Justine Trudeau has that all sewed up.
Free Photo Hosting, Image Sharing, Upload pics
Prime Minister David Cameron will announce fresh anti-terror legislation to counter the threat posed by homegrown jihadists, having raising the UK's terror threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’ over recent events in Iraq and Syria.
The announcement, based on negotiations between Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition partners, is expected around 14:30 GMT. It is likely to include measures to block British nationals fighting with IS (formerly ISIS) militants from re-entering the UK, where they pose a terrorist threat.
In an effort to control the flow of British-born jihadists traveling to and from Iraq and Syria, the new measures will allow intelligence agencies to access airline passenger data. The government also plans to intensify its intelligence sharing with Turkey and Germany.
Signs of coalition tensions were highlighted, however, when former Lib Dem leaders criticized Cameron's decision to raise the terror threat rating. Negotiations between Cameron and the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have sought to balance security concerns against the protection of civil liberties.
Conservatives have called for new powers to seize passports from fighters and impose temporary travel bans on fighters returning to the UK, while leading Lib Dems have questioned the move’s legality under international law.
UK nationals suspected of involvement in terrorist acts will likely be allowed to keep their British citizenship under the proposals. Meanwhile, the coalition partners are seeking agreement on plans to tighten up terrorism prevention and investigation measures (TPIMs), the successor to control orders.
On Friday, Britain’s terror level was officially raised from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’. In a statement, Cameron called the IS a “greater and deeper threat to our security than we’ve seen before.” He said there are “gaps in our armory” that would need to be filled with new legislation “to keep our people safe.”
The upgraded alert was put in place by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) - a subset of Britain’s Security Service (MI5) dedicated to analyzing intelligence relating to global terrorism. According to MI5, Britain has not faced such a serious risk of terrorist attacks since 2011.
Around 30 UK citizens every month are now traveling to Syria and Iraq across the frontier, in a journey dubbed the ‘Jihad Express’. About 500 British citizens are believed to have gone to Syria to join militant groups, though some have estimated that figure could be up to three times higher.
The king of Saudi Arabia warned at the weekend that terror groups would attack Europe in the next month unless they were confronted with “power and speed.”
In a public statement, Home Secretary Theresa May said on Friday the “increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West.”
“Some of these plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have traveled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts,” she added.
source: http://rt.com/uk/184224-britain-law..._medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
................................
Canada needs to take a page from the UK's handbook..
Harper shouldn't be worried about offending the Islamic vote, Justine Trudeau has that all sewed up.
Free Photo Hosting, Image Sharing, Upload pics