Home grown terrorists threaten the UK, MI6 warns

British born radicals who undergo terrorist training will leave authorities 'hard pressed' to prevent an attack

The UK faces threats not only from terrorists abroad but from home grown terrorists.

The warning was sounded in a private briefing from a senior MI6 official to visiting American Congressmen amid growing US fears over the radicalisation of young British Muslims.

Also, British-born radicals who undergo terrorist training and become “suicide operatives” will leave the authorities "hard pressed" to prevent an attack, according to a top counterterrorism official at the Secret Intelligence Service.

The leaked documents also highlight American government concerns that the British intelligence services are struggling to combat Muslim extremists because of budget cuts and a wave of lawsuits from terror suspects.

The leaks have been published after the government’s independent reviewer of anti-terror laws warned that human rights rulings had made the UK a “safe haven” for suspected foreign terrorists.

The WikiLeaks files detail mounting American concern over the inability of British security forces to apprehend terrorists intent on launching attacks on the West.

The document stated: "Moreover, the internal threat is growing more dangerous because some extremists are conducting non-lethal training without ever leaving the country."

"Should these extremists then decide to become suicide operatives, HMG [Her Majesty’s Government] intelligence resources, eavesdropping and surveillance would be hard pressed to find them on any 'radar screen’. [The officer] described this as a 'generational’ problem that will not go away anytime soon."

Further information:
The Telegraph