LONDON, 27 August 2005 — The terrorist threat in Britain will remain despite a set of new rules by the government to combat extremism, experts say, warning that the risk may even rise in the short term.
Britain finalized a plan this week to bar or deport foreign radicals in the wake of the London bombings. A list of so-called “unacceptable behaviors” is the first concrete sign that the “rules of the game are changing,” as promised by British Prime Minster Tony Blair in early August.
The government has embarked on a wide-ranging crackdown on extremist and other groups in the wake of the July 7 suicide bombings, which killed 56 people, and attempted copycat attacks on July 21.
But Robert Ayers, a security expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said the moves were too little, too late.
“In 2003, the British intelligence services revealed that over 1,200 British citizens had gone through terror training camps in Afghanistan,” he said.
“What the British government has said thus far is that they’re going to try to deport 10 foreign nationals,” Ayers said.
“Given the order of magnitude of the potential terrorist problem within Britain I do not believe deporting 10 individuals is going to make a substantial difference one way or the other.”
In addition, Ayers warned their ideology had already been widely dispersed and embraced by supporters in Britain.
The 10 foreigners — mostly Arabs, including Abu Qatada, the 44-year-old Jordanian who has been described as Al-Qaeda’s “ambassador” in Europe — were arrested on Aug. 11 and face deportation.
3 Held for Questioning in Wales
Police said yesterday they were questioning three men arrested under the Terrorism Act in Wales. Gwent police said the three were arested in Newport in South Wales. All are residents of the area.
The arrests, according to a spokeswoman, was an on-going security operation.
The arrests comes days before the scheduled meeting of European Union foreign ministers due to take place at the Celtic Manor Resort near Newport in early September.
All 25 EU foreign ministers are expected to be at the two-day summit which will be hosted by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
— With input from agencies
