RTSun, 26 Feb 2017 15:31 UTC
© The TelegraphTerror Chief Max Hill
The UK is at its highest risk of a terror attack since the IRA bombing campaign of the 1970s, according to
Britain's new watchdog for terrorism laws.Max Hill, a new independent reviewer of terrorism legislation,
said that
radical Islamists were actively targeting UK cities and that there is an
"enormous ongoing risk which none of us can ignore." "So I think that there is undoubtedly significant ongoing risk which is at least as great as the threat to London in the Seventies when the IRA were active on the mainland," Hill is cited as saying in an interview with
Telegraph.
Speaking in his first major interview since his appointment, Hill said he was increasingly concerned that the
imminent return of hundreds of native Britons, who left the country to fight for the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), may stir radical ideologies. "It's an enormous concern that large numbers - we know this means at least hundreds of British citizens who have left this country in order to fight - are now returning or may be about to return," Hill said.
"It is possible to point to
distinctions in terms of the mindset, organization and strategy of different terrorist groups and therefore it would be
wrong to draw a simple comparison between Irish republicanism and the ideology of so-called Islamic State," said Hill.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) - designated a terrorist group by Britain - was central to 30 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland that pitted Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland against British security forces and mainly Protestant loyalists determined to stay in the United Kingdom.
An end to violence by IRA guerrillas was a central plank of a 1998 peace accord that ended three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland and bombing campaigns in mainland Britain.
Comment: Other pertinent content from the
Telegraph interview:
Is Mr Hill prepared to stand his ground? "I have never been an employee of Government," he notes, adding: "I won't have any hesitation in expressing and maintaining my view."
Despite the threat Mr Hill - whose role is to scrutinise government legislation - opposes "draconian" measures that would imperil free speech online. He declines to back extra laws to force Facebook, Twitter and other social media giants to take down extremist content, proposing instead more international co-operation between governments.
Mr. Hill's views and concerns:
Expressed "enormous concern" at the imminent return of hundreds of British jihadists who have been fighting for Isil in Syria;
Warned that British teenagers as young as 14 are being radicalised by extremist videos and hate speech online;
Promised to stand up to Theresa May if he believes her administration's policies will harm British society;
Defended ministers who approved a reported £1 million compensation payment to Ronald Fiddler, the Guantanamo Bay detainee who this month carried out a suicide bomb attack in Iraq;
Pledged to review Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures amid concerns they are an "extraordinarily serious infringement" on freedom. [TPIMs, a form of control order that can restrict a person's movement or financial activity. He calls the orders an "extraordinarily serious infringement" on people's lives and, while careful to insist they remain "necessary", appears to caution their use.]
Comment: Other pertinent content from the Telegraph interview: