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'Not possible' to monitor all UK Syria fighters 'Not possible' to monitor all UK Syria fighters
(about 2 hours later)
The security services will not be able to monitor all of the Britons who return to the country after fighting in Syria, a former MI6 director has said.The security services will not be able to monitor all of the Britons who return to the country after fighting in Syria, a former MI6 director has said.
Richard Barrett issued the warning following reports there could be as many as 500 Britons fighting in Syria.Richard Barrett issued the warning following reports there could be as many as 500 Britons fighting in Syria.
He said fighters who represent a terror threat on their return would be a "very small" but unpredictable number. He said fighters who posed a terror threat on their return would be a "very small" but unpredictable number.
His comments come after an apparent recruitment video for jihadists in Iraq and Syria featured several Britons.His comments come after an apparent recruitment video for jihadists in Iraq and Syria featured several Britons.
Mr Barrett, a former MI6 director of global counter-terrorism, told the BBC News Channel it was "out of the question" for the security services to follow all of the Britons who have fought in Syria if and when they return. Mr Barrett, a former MI6 director of global counter-terrorism, told the BBC News Channel it was "out of the question" for the security services to follow all of the Britons who had fought in Syria if and when they returned.
"Clearly they'll have to prioritise and they'll have to choose those that they think are likely to pose the greatest risk," he said."Clearly they'll have to prioritise and they'll have to choose those that they think are likely to pose the greatest risk," he said.
"Beyond that I think they'll have to rely very much on members of the community and other people expressing their concern and worry about the behaviour of perhaps their returned friend or family member.""Beyond that I think they'll have to rely very much on members of the community and other people expressing their concern and worry about the behaviour of perhaps their returned friend or family member."
'Linear progression' 'Long-term' threat
Mr Barrett said the radicalisation of young Britons was "perplexing" but one reason they were heading to Syria could be the lack of a sense of identity in the UK.Mr Barrett said the radicalisation of young Britons was "perplexing" but one reason they were heading to Syria could be the lack of a sense of identity in the UK.
He added the recruitment networks operating in Europe were "suggestive of a greater deal of radicalisation than people just going on their own" but there was not "necessarily a linear progression from being a fighter in Syria to being a domestic terrorist".He added the recruitment networks operating in Europe were "suggestive of a greater deal of radicalisation than people just going on their own" but there was not "necessarily a linear progression from being a fighter in Syria to being a domestic terrorist".
The former MI6 director said the level of threat posed by returning fighters would depend on what had happened to them while they were in Syria and why they had returned home.The former MI6 director said the level of threat posed by returning fighters would depend on what had happened to them while they were in Syria and why they had returned home.
"The trouble is, you don't know which ones are coming back just wanting to get on with their lives and which ones are coming back quite severely radicalised," he added."The trouble is, you don't know which ones are coming back just wanting to get on with their lives and which ones are coming back quite severely radicalised," he added.
The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said there was an expectation that acts of terrorism by fighters returning to the UK in the future "was something that's inevitably going to happen" as "historically a minority of those returning from Jihad do become domestic terrorists". Police have urged Britons considering travelling to Syria to fight not to do so.
They warned would-be jihadists that they were likely to be killed or kidnapped if they took part in the conflict, or likely to be arrested if they returned to the UK.
On Sunday, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick warned that UK police would have to deal with the threat of British fighters returning from Syria for "many years", with the conflict representing a "long-term" terrorist threat.On Sunday, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick warned that UK police would have to deal with the threat of British fighters returning from Syria for "many years", with the conflict representing a "long-term" terrorist threat.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend, Ms Dick - who is currently head of specialist operations including counter terrorism at the Met - warned Britain would face "the consequences" of the conflict in Syria for "many years to come". "We are really alert to the fact that people may come back and they may have military training," she told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend.
"We are really alert to the fact that people may come back and they may have military training," she said. "They may seek - although it's very difficult - to smuggle weaponry here and they may seek to cause violence or to encourage others to cause violence."
"They may seek - although it's very difficult - to smuggle weaponry here and they may seek to cause violence or to encourage others to cause violence.
"So a huge part of our effort is about trying to work out who is coming back and intercept them at the port, and of course if we discover that there are plots being planned either from abroad, for example from Syria, or within the UK, we will do everything we can to disrupt that plot."
'One and only son''One and only son'
Two of the men who appeared in the film posted by internet accounts linked to militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) - which has a presence in Syria and is fighting government forces in Iraq - have now been identified. Two of the men who appeared in a video posted by internet accounts linked to militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) - which has a presence in Syria and is fighting government forces in Iraq - have now been identified.
The mother of one of the men, 20-year-old Reyaad Khan, from Cardiff made an emotional plea to her son on Sky News.The mother of one of the men, 20-year-old Reyaad Khan, from Cardiff made an emotional plea to her son on Sky News.
"Reyaad, please come back home. I'm dying for you. You're my only son," she said. "Please come home Reyaad. Please send my son back home. He's my one and only son. I and my family need him back." "Reyaad, please come back home. I'm dying for you. You're my only son," she said.
The father of aspiring medical student Nasser Muthana, also 20 and from Cardiff, also spoke of his shock at seeing his son in the video. The father of aspiring medical student Nasser Muthana, also 20 and from Cardiff, spoke of his shock at seeing his son in the video.
He said his younger son, Aseel, 17, had also travelled to the country in February, several months after Nasser left. He added that his younger son, Aseel, 17, had also travelled to the country in February, several months after Nasser left.
Sheikh Zane Abdo, of the South Wales Islamic Centre in Cardiff and who knew Nasser and Aseel, told the BBC that the brothers had become serious about their faith and had begun expressing political views.
He added that radicalisation over the internet needed to be addressed.
"A platform has been given to this video that really shouldn't have been given," he said.
"So there are issues around the internet, issues around people who can radicalise, who can talk to young people, and it's a mixture of these things that has produced what has [happened] over the weekend and past few days."
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis)Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis)
Isis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in IraqIsis grew out of an al-Qaeda-linked organisation in Iraq
Last month, a 31-year-old man from Portsmouth became the first person in the UK to be convicted of terrorist offences in connection with the conflict in Syria.
A court heard how father-of-two Mashudur Choudhury travelled to Syria to attend a terrorist training camp. He was convicted of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Isis".Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Isis".