Bill Carmichael: Terrorism '“ David Blunkett was right all along on extremist threat

Back in 2001 the then Home Secretary was clear-sighted enough to realise in the wake of the 9/11 atrocities that we must do more to protect citizens from swelling ranks of Islamist fanatics in our midst.

He introduced tough measures to monitor and control the activities of extremists – but he was thwarted every step of the way by left-wing lawyers and activist judges who argued that the human rights of terrorists were more important than keeping people safe.

After Blunkett left the Home Offic, these control orders were watered down. When they were weakened still further by the coalition Government in 2011 – this time at the insistence of then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – Blunkett described the move as a “betrayal” and “treachery”.

As a result of this appalling weakness, our security position has deteriorated greatly. According to the M15 watchlist, it is now estimated that up to 3,000 jihadis could be walking our streets, many of them hardened fighters who have returned from Syria.

Yet only seven are under the control of T-Pims (Terrorism Prevention and Investigative Measures) – the enfeebled successor to Blunkett’s tough action.

We could do with a bit of Blunkett’s Sheffield steel in the wake of this week’s appalling terror attack in Manchester.

People may find comfort in lighting candles and clutching teddy bears, but sadly it won’t stop the next attack. And I fear it signals a worrying passivity in the face of evil, summed up by London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s comment that living with terror is “part and parcel” of life in modern Britain. Seeing little girls murdered at a pop concert should never become acceptable in our society.

We need to get much angrier – bloody furious in fact. Much has been written of the “Blitz spirit” shown by the people of Manchester. But we didn’t defeat the Nazis by singing Kumbaya and waving peace signs. Islamist extremists – our modern day fascists – are not interested in co-existence. They follow a supremacist – and deeply misogynist – ideology that seeks to conquer and subjugate us under the black flag of Islam. And we have a simple choice to make. We can either stand aside and let them murder our children, or we can take action to protect ourselves.

Such as what? Well, first we need to control our borders properly. Brexit is only the beginning. Modern technology should allow us to know exactly who is coming in and reject any undesirables.

Second, we should scrap the Human Rights Act, which has been used by unscrupulous lawyers to protect the terrorists who wish to kill us.

Third, UK citizens who travel to Syria or elsewhere to fight for Isis should have their passports immediately revoked and should be banned permanently from returning to Britain.

Fourth, foreign-born extremist preachers should be banned from the UK and any here already immediately deported. Incredibly, last year a Muslim cleric, Syed Muzaffar Shah Qadri, who is banned from preaching in his native Pakistan because his views are so extreme, conducted a tour of British mosques where he was allowed to spread his poison to thousands of impressionable young Muslims. This is utter madness and must stop at once.

Qadri, incidentally, was the inspiration for Tanveer Ahmed, the Bradford taxi driver who drove to Glasgow to murder a shopkeeper because he wished his Christian customers a happy Easter.

Fifth, extremist mosques should be shut down and all assets seized. In recent years undercover journalists have exposed mosques where preachers call for the murder of Jews and homosexuals, teach that all white women are prostitutes and that it is right to attack girls who are not wearing the hijab. These mosques are still open – they shouldn’t be.

Similarly, madrassas and Islamic schools should face regular tough inspections to ensure their teachings are compatible with civilised values. If not, they should be shut down.

Finally, we should encourage our Muslim friends to do more – much more – to cut out the cancer of extremism that is destroying their religion from within.

This is just a start, but do we have leaders with the courage to actually do something other than wring their hands and utter pious platitudes about Islam being the “religion of peace”? Oh for a politician with a bit of backbone! Come back, David Blunkett, all is forgiven.