Morning:
13°c
Economic crisis increases our terror risk, warns MI5 head
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor07.01.09
THE world economic crisis could heighten the terrorism threat facing Britain, the head of MI5 has cautioned.
In an interview Jonathan Evans, the director general of the security service, said a potential shift in the balance of economic power away from the West could prove to be a "watershed moment" causing new risks to security to emerge.
The 2012 Olympics remained a major target, he said, but a "chilling effect" of 86 successful terror prosecutions over the past 18 months had diminished the overall threat faced by the UK.
His most significant assessment was that the economic slump could leave the country more vulnerable to radicalisation, spying and terrorism.
Mr Evans did not specify how this might occur, but said history had shown that previous worldwide recessions had serious repercussions. "Where there have been watershed moments, there have been national security implications from that - a new alignment," he said. "The world will not stay the same.
"Our focus in the next few years will be international terrorism, al Qaeda and its associates, but we are also looking at the global economic crisis."
Among the threats are spying by Russia and China, which are understood to have stepped up espionage interest in key economic sites in this country. Mr Evans also said telephone calls had been discovered between members of the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba group, accused of being behind the Mumbai bombings, and people in Britain, but these had not been of "security significance".
British Muslims were still travelling to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia for terrorist training. Pakistan remained the main source of danger, with 75per cent of MI5 investigations revealing links between that country and extremists here.
Reader views (5)
True, and his masters will ensure that it (the economy) gets a lot worse so that they can 'solve' they problem and perhaps gain the 'gratitude' of the electorate. Yet another Brown ploy!
- Hugh, Middx
Of course. And now there is no money left and no police left... thanks Crash Gordon for risking it all and losing...
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London
If MI5 can substantiate their allegations with hard evidence, and if their surveillance operations are such as to enable them to have accurate information about people who go back to their or their parents' mother countries for terrorist training, perhaps Government should enact new laws to ban such people from returning to the UK if the countries concerned will not deal with the problem of terrorist training in their countries. Such laws would protect Britons of immigrant descent as much as those of British Isles stock.
- Cass, London, England
The politicians and their stooges continue to "talk up" the terror threat so they can introduce more draconian laws and measures infringing our basic freedoms and increase their own powers and bank balances.
They and their fat cat cronies have created a multi £Billion business out of the so called “War on Terror.”
Since taking up the newly created role of Middle East Peace Envoy in June 2007 Tony Blair has still not been to Gaza. He has a large staff of advisers and assistants and has the entire fourth floor of the exclusive American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem. The office space alone costs the British taxpayers half a million pounds a year, and more when Blair and his entourage are in town.
Following the introduction of privatised ID cards new measures are on the way to include the privatised surveillance of all telephone calls, emails and visits to websites.
Prior to the start of the phoney “War on Terror” in 2001 there were virtually no Islamic terrorist incidents in the UK and in spite of the provocations of Bush, Blair and Co. there have been very few since.
The main terrorist incidents in the UK prior to the phoney “War on Terror” were perpetrated by the IRA, which it should be remembered openly raised money in the United States for their cause. Ostensibly the money was raised for the families of those imprisoned on terrorist offences, but U.S. politicians were long made aware that this was the major source of funding for the IRA's terrorist activities.
- Peter Franzen, wigan
If the shift of economic power is only potential why not limit that potential by restricting imports to the UK from China. If the threat will increase from countries such as China surely the sensible action to take is for us to reduce the amount of money we spend with them. We may also by doing this encourage Western companies to begin manufacturing again in the UK. As we are seeing the problems in the services sector show that we can no longer depend on this sector to provide employment for the population. Unless urgent action is taken by the government to balance our economy the social problems we will face may render terrorism threats as immaterial.
- Robin Brittain, Wolverhampton
