ONLY 10 percent of the battle-hardened, radicalised British Muslim jihadis returning from fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted it emerged today as ministers pushed for “tougher terror laws” to be passed.
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The statistics, which were disclosed by Security Minister Ben Wallace, revealed that only 40 of the 400 British returning jihadis have been prosecuted.
The remaining 360 remain at large because of a perceived lack of evidence.
The terrifying figures were disclosed during a House of Commons’ debate on new counter-terrorism and security proposals.
Labour MP John Woodcock, who had pushed for the figures to be released, told the Commons:
“So, only one tenth of people have been successfully prosecuted.
“That does not mean the others are innocent of terrorism charges, if they have been over to Iraq and Syria, if they have been aiding Daesh in whatever form and they are British citizens, they have been aiding enemies of the British state.”
Mr Woodcock continued and called for the government to make it illegal to travel to certain areas, as is the case in Australia.
The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, responded and said he would be “looking at just that”.
Sajid Javid has said he will look into the powers which police have to deal with terror incidents
Mr Javid added: “There’s a bit more work to do on it, it’s not as straightforward as it might sound.
“The honourable gentleman mentions the Australian extraterritorial offence that has been created and I am looking at just that. If it is to become a legislative proposal, I obviously want to make sure that we have considered it properly.”
Counter-terrorism officers are concerned of the risk which British jihadis returning from Syria and Iraq pose.
Approximately 850 Britons are thought to have travelled to either of the two countries, with 15 per cent believed to be dead.
Mr Javid said he would look into the powers available to the police, security services and judiciary as the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill underwent its second reading.
He said the bill would allow threats to be disrupted earlier and would ensure that UK law reflects modern usage of the internet.
The bill went unopposed during its second reading and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
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