[Guest post by DRJ]

Describing it as the worst threat that Britain’s security service has faced in its 98-year existence, the head of Britain’s MI5 acknowledged that al Qaeda is recruiting teenagers to carry out terror attacks and that terror plans are emanating from a growing number of foreign countries:

“Teenagers as young as 15 are being groomed to carry out terrorist attacks in Britain and al-Qaida sympathisers are hatching plots in a growing number of foreign countries against targets here, the head of MI5 warned yesterday.

In his first public speech, Jonathan Evans described the threat posed by al-Qaida-inspired extremism as “the most immediate and acute peacetime threat” the security service had faced in its 98-year history. The threat, he emphasised, had its roots in ideology, making it all the more important that the response must not be indiscriminate.

“Terrorists are methodically and intentionally targeting young people and children in this country”, Mr Evans told the annual conference of the Society of Editors in Manchester. He added: “They are radicalising, indoctrinating and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism. This year, we have seen individuals as young as 15 and 16 implicated in terrorist-related activity.”

Al-Qaida was “conducting a deliberate campaign against us”, he said. It was an “expression of hostility” against Britain that existed long before the September 11 attacks on the US. What was new was the attempt to recruit youngsters and the extent to which conspiracies here were being driven from more countries.

In the past, much of the command, control and inspiration for planning attacks in Britain came from al-Qaida’s remaining core leadership in the tribal areas of Pakistan – often using young British citizens to mount the actual attack, Mr Evans said. Now, he said, a similar pattern was emerging elsewhere. There was no doubt there was training activity and terrorist planning in East Africa – particularly in Somalia – which was focused on the UK.“

Evans also made this interesting comment about the limits of security and surveillance in a free society:

“Mr Evans defended MI5 against charges that it could have identified two of the bombers who struck in London on July 7 2005 because they had been seen with the perpetrators of another terrorist plot the agency had succeeded in foiling.

“There will be instances when individuals come to the notice of the security service or the police but then subsequently carry out acts of terrorism”, he said. He continued: “This is inevitable. Every decision to investigate someone entails a decision not to investigate someone else. Knowing of somebody is not the same as knowing all about somebody.“

MI5 currently has a workforce of 3,150 people but it is expected to grow to 4,000 in the next 4 years.

— DRJ