Daily Mail
January 23, 2014
Only one of the ‘thousands’ of terrorist fanatics living in the UK will be subject to an anti-terror control order by the end of this month.
The revelation came amid a warning by a committee of MPs and peers that powers to protect the British public from terror suspects who cannot be put in prison are ‘withering on the vine’.
Currently, eight men are subject to restrictions on their movements – which can include strict curfews and an electronic tag.
But, under rules demanded by Nick Clegg, seven of the so-called Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures will lapse by January 31.
Once the number of T-PIMS falls to one, it will be the lowest number of the civil orders in force since they were first introduced to monitor the activities of Islamist fanatics in 2005.
Earlier this week, the Mail revealed how the men who will be freed include an extremist who remains determined to carry out a Mumbai-style firearms attack in the UK.
By the start of February, the only remaining T-PIM subject will be a foreign national, known only as DD, who is suspected of funding and promoting terrorism on East Africa.
Andrew Parker, the head of MI5 has said there are ‘several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British public as a legitimate target.’ Parliament’s joint committee on human rights said it believes T-PIMs – which replaced control orders in 2011 – may be ‘withering on the vine’.
The MPs said the government must be much more open about how the regime is operating and the work that is being done to ‘de-radicalise’ the subjects.
Home Secretary Theresa May has been criticised this week for refusing to say if the men being freed from T-PIMs continue to pose a threat to the public.