Britain's homegrown terror threat escalating-police

By Staff
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SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) The threat of homegrown terrorism in Britain was escalating with authorities investigating 1,600 people and 200 plots since 2005, London's deputy police commissioner told a security conference in Sydney today.

The radicalisation of young British men to the point where they are prepared to become terrorists -- once thought to take years, is occuring in weeks and months -- said London's Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner, Paul Stephenson.

''There is no doubt we are all facing an increasing terrorist threat,'' Stephenson told the conference.

''The tempo seems to be increasing. The respite between ops is disappearing. The demand on our assets and our people is unprecedented,'' he said.

Stephenson said the terrorism threat in Britain had risen since July 2005 when the country suffered its the worst peacetime attack when four British Islamists blew themselves up on London's transport network, killing 52 commuters and wounding hundreds.

''Since then the police and security services in the United Kingdom have had to contend with 200 groups or networks totalling 1,600 identified individuals who are actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist acts,'' he said.

The recent arrest of a small number of people uncovered 100,000 identities and three terabytes of data, or about one third the content of the US Congress library, much of it encrypted, Stephenson said, adding London police were currently conducting 17 terrorism investigations.

The scale of the threat in Britain was so large that it was imperative that authorities were open with the community, especially Muslims, in order to gain people's confidence and support in the fight against terrorism, Stephenson said. ''Numbers do not reveal a weakness to the enemy because the numbers are so large,'' he said.

''We have a community within which there are some very deep suspicions of government agencies and police. We can no longer be silent about the scale of the threat if we are to get the support of those communities.'' One of the greatest challenges for security organisations was to stop the radicalisation of young people to commit terrorist acts, Stephenson said.

''That is not a process that takes years, that is a process that we think is something around weeks and months. If we are to defeat the current terrorist threat we must understand its nature, strength and weakness,'' he said.

''Terrorism can not be completely stopped but what we can do is reduce the risk to society by making it difficult for terrorists to succeed.'' Stephenson said the terrorism threat in Britain today was not only different, but also greater, than the 30-year threat posed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which engaged in bombing campaigns in central London.

The IRA warned of attacks, did not engage in suicide attacks and was infiltrated by authorities, he said, adding this allowed authorities to play along with plots to gain vital intelligence.

''It was never easy or without risk but the odds were certainly better,'' Stephenson said. ''None of these conditions exist in the face of the current terrorism threat.'' REUTERS SHB SSC1103

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