A respected defence and security think tank has warned that the United Kingdom is facing a potential new wave of home grown terrorist attacks launched by Islamists radicalised whilst in prison.
A study published by the Royal United Services Institute warns that the UK security services could struggle to cope with a new generation of Islamist terrorists seeking to carry out terror attacks. It explains that there are 8,000 Muslims currently serving prison terms in England and Wales who are at risk of being converted to extremism by Islamist inmates jailed for terrorist offences. As a result they will be much more difficult for the police and security services to stop, the study claimed.
'The conditions are all there for a series of attacks that could begin at any time. More than any Western country, the UK has the greatest to fear from home grown terrorism,’ it says.
‘Certainly, British security services are acutely aware of the possibilities for a wave of individual random attacks against different targets. Attacks on ‘crowded places’ are near the top of the government's risk rankings over the next five years.’
The study also suggested that all major sporting events such as the 2012 Olympics in London should be considered as possible targets for this new generation of Islamist terrorists.
Michael Clarke, co-author of the study, said:
‘Perhaps some 800 potentially violent radicals, not previously guilty of terrorism charges, will be back in society over the coming five to ten years ... The natural reaction to improved counter-terrorist operations is for jihadist attacks to evolve towards more individual efforts.’
Abu Hamza, a figurehead for radical Islam in Britain who was jailed for seven years for soliciting murder, is held in a special unit at Belmarsh Prison in London partly to minimise the risk that he will indoctrinate other inmates.
According to figures, more than 230 people were jailed in the UK over terror plots in the last ten years. But of those, just 105 remain in prison. The Ministry of Justice said that it did not agree that radicalisation was widespread in British prisons.
Sources: