MI6 has warned that Britain faces a “unique” threat from a generation of home-grown terrorists who are not on the intelligence services’ “radar”, secret documents have disclosed.
Suicide bomber Hasib Hussain blew himself up on a number 30 bus in Tavistock Square in London on July 7 2005 Photo: PA
British-born radicals who undergo terrorist training and become “suicide operatives” will leave the authorities “hard pressed” to prevent an attack, according to a top counterterrorism official at the Secret Intelligence Service.
The problem of home-grown terrorists is officially expected to blight Britain for years to come and “will not go away anytime soon”.
The warning was sounded in a private briefing from a senior MI6 official to visiting American Congressmen amid growing US fears over the radicalisation of young British Muslims.
The leaked documents also highlight American government concerns that the British intelligence services are struggling to combat Muslim extremists because of budget cuts and a wave of lawsuits from terror suspects. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, announced further cuts to the counter-terrorism budget earlier this week. Read More
