British jihadis fighting in Syria and Iraq will have their passports cancelled for at least two years to prevent them returning to wreak terror in the UK, David Cameron announced on Thursday evening.
Downing
Street said the plans would give Britain the toughest anti-jihadi
powers in the Western world outside the US, and would ensure fighters
were only let back in to the UK ‘on our terms’.
However,
they will place ministers on collision course with judges and human
rights lawyers. And they risk infuriating allies such as Turkey and
Germany, which could find themselves having to deal with British
extremists stranded abroad.
David Cameron's plans would see Aine
Davis (crouching, second from right) have his passport cancelled for two
years after he fled to Syria to fight for Islamic State
The
Prime Minister’s announcement came as he outlined a raft of new
measures to counter the threat posed by Islamist fanatics in a speech to
the Australian parliament in Canberra.
He is about to embark on talks with world leaders at the G20 summit in Australia on tackling so-called foreign fighters.
The
measures also include plans to streamline existing powers to confiscate
the passports of Britons thought to be planning to travel to Syria.
They will also be extended to under-18s for the first time to combat the threat posed by teenage jihadis.
And
airlines will be warned that they could be fined or have their licences
to operate in the UK revoked unless they co-operate fully with the
security services to identify and prevent banned suspects from boarding
flights home.
But it is the introduction of ‘temporary exclusion orders’ that will prove the most controversial.
On
the orders of Home Secretary Theresa May, legal papers will be served
to a suspect’s last-known address in the UK and they will be placed
immediately on international ‘no-fly’ lists.
Any
airline that allows a suspect to board a plane to the UK could find its
aircraft turned back. And any banned individuals who manage to sneak
back into Britain would commit an offence carrying a five-year jail
term.
David Cameron made the announcement in Australia, where he has met the country's prime minister Tony Abbott
The order could also be extended indefinitely if they are still deemed a threat after two years.
Individuals
who insist on returning to Britain will be permitted to do so without a
passport – but only under strict police supervision. Detectives will be
sent to accompany them home, where they could face prosecution or
surveillance.
Those
who refuse these terms will be effectively marooned abroad without a
passport – probably in a so-called transit country, such as Turkey or
Germany. Downing Street last night said diplomatic talks were continuing
with these countries about how these individuals should then be dealt
with.
The
plan is designed to get round international laws that prevent the UK
stripping the citizenship of British subjects and rendering them
stateless, which had been Mr Cameron’s initial plan.
It
will be included in a new Counter Terrorism Bill, which will be
published this month and rushed through Parliament by the end of
January.
A spokesman said that Attorney General Jeremy Wright had signed off the measures as being consistent with international law.
But
they risk being caught up in a legal minefield. Former Attorney General
Dominic Grieve has warned that removing passports from British citizens
abroad is ‘likely to be a non-starter’.
EVERYONE THINKS I WAS LET OFF FOR MY LOOKS, SAYS 'JIHOTTIE'
The woman dubbed the ‘Jihottie’ in a landmark terrorism case has claimed the public think she was cleared because of her looks.
Nawal Msaad, 27, earned her nickname after she posted photos online of the glamorous outfits she would be wearing to her trial.
The university student even decorated the electronic tag on her ankle with jewels.
She was eventually acquitted of trying to smuggle £16,500 in her underwear to a jihadi fighter.
Nawal Msaad
(right), dubbed the 'Jihottie', spoke for the first time since she was
acquitted of smuggling £16,500 in cash to a jihadi fighter, but her
friend Amal El-Wahabi (left) was jailed
Yesterday,
as Miss Msaad spoke out for the first time since her acquittal, her
friend Amal El-Wahabi was jailed for two years and four months for
arranging to transport cash to her 30-year-old husband Aine Davis, a
Muslim convert fighting with IS.
It is the first prosecution in Britain of funding terrorism in Syria.
Miss
Msaad, a Muslim, complained of sexist treatment in the media and said
she has received abuse from the Muslim community and threats of sexual
violence on social networking sites for the way she dressed during her
trial.
‘A
lot of people think that I’m the smuggler who got away with it, that
the jury only let me off because of my looks,’ she told Channel 4 News.
‘I was supposed to be a jihadi, but there I was dressed in skirts and matching blazers. Many people couldn’t handle this.
‘I
was getting stick from the Muslim community, from people really
bothered by the way I dress, sending me messages that I should cover
up.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2833888/I-ll-strip-returning-jihadis-passports-two-years-vows-PM-Cameron-says-plans-prevent-suspects-returning-wreak-terror-UK.html#ixzz3J3IAjac1
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