Arab Spring spawns new generation of UK terrorists

The Arab Spring has spawned a new generation of British-born terrorists after al-Qaeda moved into unstable countries and began training potential bombers for possible attacks on the UK, the head of MI5 warned last night (Monday).

Jonathan Evans said the terrorist network had taken advantage of the revolutions that began last year to spread its influence and create new bases for planning attacks.

British jihadis were known to be receiving training in countries such as Libya and Egypt, mirroring what has happened in the Yemen and Somalia, he claimed.

They could return to attack Britain in what was a "new and worrying development", he said.

Evans, the Director General of MI5, warned of the emerging threats in a rare speech, his first in almost two years. He also said that:

-The intelligence services and police were preparing for potential threats from extremists and "lone wolf" terrorists should the eurozone collapse.

-Cyber attacks were causing "real world damage", with one British company suffering estimated losses of £800 million after its computers were hacked.

There was a renewed threat of state-sponsored terrorism from Iran and associates such as Hizbollah.

-It would be "extraordinary and self-defeating" if government proposals to give the security services greater powers to snoop on emails and phone calls were blocked.

The popular revolts in Arab nations won widespread acclaim, with Western leaders welcoming the demise of Hosni Mubarak's rule in Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya, among others.

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, described events at the time as "incredibly exciting". But in the inaugural Lord Mayor's Annual Defence and Security Lecture in London, Evans warned that a new terrorist threat had emerged from an "Arab world in radical transition".

He said that, while events offered hope in the long term, there was a "more immediate problem" as al-Qaeda returned home.

"Today parts of the Arab world have once more become a permissive environment for al-Qaeda," he said. "This is the completion of a cycle: al-Qaeda first moved to Afghanistan in the 1990s due to pressure in their Arab countries of origin. They moved on to Pakistan after the fall of the Taliban.

"And now some are heading home to the Arab world again. And a small number of British would-be jihadis are also making their way to Arab countries to seek training and opportunities for militant activity, as they do in Somalia and Yemen.

"Some will return to the UK and pose a threat here. This is a new and worrying development and could get worse as events unfold."

Figures published last year suggested that more than 100 Britons had received training from terrorist groups in Somalia. It is feared that many are now attending al-Qaeda camps in Yemen, Egypt and Libya.

Evans added: "In back rooms and in cars and on the streets of this country there is no shortage of individuals talking about wanting to mount terrorist attacks here.

"We see them regularly in our intelligence investigations. And others in various parts of the world have the same ambitions."

Evans said it was a sign of al-Qaeda's change of focus that a few years ago, three quarters of MI5's
work centred on Afghanistan and Pakistan, whereas less than half did now.

"Al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and the Sahel have become more dangerous as al-Qaeda in Pakistan has declined and we see increasing levels of co-operation between al-Qaeda groups in various parts of the world," said Evans. The network was also active in Syria and in West Africa "where the UK has political, economic and demographic ties", he warned.

Suggestions that al-Qaeda's threat had "evaporated" following the death of Osama bin Laden were wide of the mark, he said, adding that Britain had "experienced a credible terrorist attack plot about once a year since 9/11".

Evans offered some reassurance by saying that the tactics and methods of the security services had improved over the years: "You could say that we are near to reaching a form of stalemate - they haven't stopped trying but we have got better at stopping them."

But turning to recent attacks against Israeli interests, and an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in America, he said: "So a return to State-sponsored terrorism by Iran or its associates, such as Hizbollah, cannot be ruled out as pressure on the Iranian leadership increases."

That, coupled with Iran's nuclear intentions, raised the chilling prospect of a dirty bomb attack, he added.

For the first time, the MI5 chief spoke publicly about controversial plans to force telecom providers to give the police and security services access to customers' phone calls, emails and internet activity. He insisted the changes were necessary to keep up with criminals and terrorists who took advantage of new communications technology.

"It would be extraordinary and self-defeating if terrorists and criminals were able to adopt new technologies in order to facilitate their activities while the law enforcement and security agencies were not permitted to keep pace with those same technological changes," he said.

On the Olympics, Evans said he was confident that security would be maintained despite them being an "attractive target for our enemies".

"The Games are not an easy target and the fact that we have disrupted multiple terrorist plots here and abroad in recent years demonstrates that the UK as a whole is not an easy target for terrorism," he added.