British PM plans new laws to tackle terrorism threat
LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday he plans to introduce new laws to make it harder for Britons to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Islamist extremists.
The prime minister said he would detail his plans in parliament on Monday. Legislation would include making it easier to confiscate passports, Cameron told a news conference as Britain raised its terror threat risk level to “severe” due to fears over the situation in Iraq and Syria.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is targeting western Europe,” he said.
British Home Secretary Theresa May earlier on Friday said: “The increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West. Some of those plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have travelled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts.”
The “severe” threat level means an attack is “highly likely”, although May added there was no intelligence to suggest that an attack was imminent. The threat level is now at the second highest level out of five possible categories and is at its highest since July 2011.
