Britain declared main hub for Islamist terrorists across world

Lord Carlile QC said Islamist extremism “remained far and away the greatest, and the least predictable” terrorist threat to the UK and most terrorists were home-grown.

He highlighted several cases from 2010 where British citizens were accused of terrorist activity in the UK and abroad.

Writing the foreword to an overview of the UK’s links to Islamism-inspired terrorism worldwide, Lord Carlile said: “Although terrorist training (especially in Pakistan) plays a part in the development of some Islamist extremists, we should not lose sight of the clear evidence provided by the report that a majority of terrorists in the UK are ‘home-grown’, and have not been trained abroad.

“Unfortunately the evidence reveals the UK to be something of a hub for the development of terrorists who export their activities to other countries: several examples are given from 2010.”

He said Islamist extremism was not the only terrorist threat to the United Kingdom, but it remained far and away the greatest, and the least predictable.

According to the report, published by the Henry Jackson Society, seven out of 10 Islam-related offences last year were perpetrated by British nationals, with almost half of those living in London.

Pakistan also features prominently with over a quarter of all offences committed by either British Pakistanis or Pakistani born individuals.

The analysis showed none of those convicted in 2010 had attended terrorist training camps abroad,

It comes after a series of British citizens were involved in attacks. Suicide bomber Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, 28, who studied at the University of Luton, blew himself up and injured two people in an attack in Stockholm’s shopping district in December last year.

Abdulwahab, who lived in Luton and was born in Iraq, apparently killed himself as he tried to set off a car bomb in a busy street.

A terrorist suspect killed in a drone attack in Pakistan in September last year was reportedly a British man tasked with leading an al-Qaida group in the UK. A senior Pakistani security source said Abdul Jabbar was a British citizen who has a British wife and was living in Punjab, Pakistan.

Terror suspect Mahmoud Abu Rideh, who was previously under a control order in the UK, was killed in a missile strike in Afghanistan last year while it has also been reported that five British residents went to fight in Somalia for proscribed terrorist organisation al-Shabaab.

The report, Islamist Terrorist: The British Connections, showed 14 convictions were secured in 2010 – 11 from new charges and three following re-trials.

Between 1999 and 2010, there have been 133 individual convictions for Islamism-related offences and five individuals killed in suicide attacks. Most of those involved were young with 68 per cent of offences committed by people under the age of 30.

Offences were overwhelmingly carried out by men though there were six women convicted – representing only four per cent of the total.

Statistical analysis also found little correlation between terrorist activity, low educational achievement and employment status. Where the background of offenders was known, 42 per cent were in employment or full-time further or higher education.

The report also found most of those convicted of terror-related offences (54 per cent) served less than three-and-a-half years in jail.