British al-Qaida threat ‘thrives’

THERE are more than 200 al-Qaida-trained terrorists walking the streets of Britain in a threat which “thrives”, the country’s former police chief warned yesterday.

Writing in the News of the World, Sir John Stevens vigorously defended the government’s controversial anti-terror plans and attacked opponents for failing to understand “the brutal reality of the world we live in.”

The former Metropolitan Police Commissioner says his hair was made to “stand on end” by shocking reports of atrocities that al-Qaida and its associates were planning.

He criticised human rights laws for being “skewed” towards individuals and not allowing the terror suspects detained in high-security jails to be deported back to the countries they came from, but said it would be “madness” to let them out.

He warned the threat is not just from abroad, and listed home-grown terrorists, such as jailed shoe bomber Richard Reid from London and Gloucester’s Saajid Badat, who last week admitted plotting to blow up a plane with a explosive hidden in his shoe.

The ex-police chief adds: “The brutal truth is that there are more just like them, as much British citizens as you and I, living here now just waiting to kill and be killed in their awful misguided cause.”

Briefings since the September 11 attacks shocked and dismayed Tony Blair, he says.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said: “While Sir John is right to highlight the serious threat that we face, we believe that strong principles of justice will not undermine national security.

“Of more concern are his comments that the current Belmarsh detainees pose a serious threat.”

The controversial Prevention of Terrorism Bill, which scraped through the Commons by just 14 votes, faces further opposition when it comes to the committee stage in the House of Lords next week.

The government was forced to table new legislation on terror suspects after the Law Lords ruled in December that current provisions to detain them without trial were unlawful.