Send extremists to Syria, says former counter terror chief

Britain should allow extremists to travel to Syria to live under Isis instead of allowing them to "fester" in the UK, a former counter-terror chief has said, as London commemorates the 7/7 terror attacks on the capital.

52 people were murdered and 700 injured when suicide bombers exploded bombs on three tube trains and a bus in London in 2005.

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Robert Quick, head of special operations for Scotland Yard between 2008-09, argued that the government should lay on charter flights for those intent on travelling to the "caliphate" declared by the terror group Isis, and confiscate their passports so they cannot return.

He said: "If they want to go, you have to ask the question, are we better off, if they surrender their passports and go? It's better than them festering away here. Should we say we'll lay on charter flights to Syria; turn up with your passport and if you are over 18, if this is the life you want, then go?"

It is estimated that as many as 1,000 British people have defected to territories held by Isis, and there are fears that those who return could pose a danger to Britain's security.

According to Quick, 10 years ago terror plots were far more elaborate but they could be intercepted. Now the nature of terror attacks has changed, with lone wolves far more likely to cause unpredictable chaos. "We are dealing with large numbers, who have travelled to Syria - we don't know how many will come back with horrible intent - and the homegrown extremists who are here", he said.

"We are in a less safe position than we were then, because the world outside our borders is less safe than 10 years ago," he continued. "There are more people who are motivated, inspired or encouraged to mount these attacks."

The national terror threat level is now standing at 'severe', meaning an attack is highly likely. This is one level away from the highest threat level - 'critical' which means that an attack is expected imminently. Two months before the attacks in 2005, the threat level was lower, set at 'substantial'.

Following the terror attack on tourists in Sousse, Tunisia, last week, which killed 38 people, 30 of whom were Britons, British security forces held two days of large-scale training exercises in London.

Andrew Parker, director general of MI5, said in a statement released to mark the attacks: "We had always known - and said publicly - we simply can't find and stop every terrorist plot. we could not have prevented 7/7."

"These and other appalling acts are attempted by individuals who have grown up here but decided for whatever twisted reasons to identify their own country as the enemy," he continued. "They are a tiny fraction of the population."