Islamist extremists 'have penetrated to the heart of Britain'
By STEPHEN WRIGHT
Islamist extremists have infiltrated Government and key public utilities
to pass sensitive information to terrorists, the security services have
warned.
Counter-terrorism officials say "insiders" or their associates are
almost certainly working "undetected" in sensitive posts and are
actively supporting the activities of extremists.
In some cases, lifelong relationships between friends or relatives are
being exploited to obtain crucial information from those in sensitive
posts.
The development is detailed in intelligence reports circulated to the
Home Office, police and Whitehall officials.
The London Underground, Gatwick airport and BT are cited as examples of
organisations which have been targeted by individuals linked to
terrorists.
Officials say the idea of "penetrating the enemy is pervasive" for
Islamic extremists.
It is understood a number of suspected jihadists working in Government
departments and the public services are being monitored by the security
services.
Details of the threat emerged months after the Daily Mail revealed fears
that Scotland Yard has been infiltrated by individuals linked to
extremist groups including Al Qaeda.
Several police officers and civilian staff are being monitored amid
claims they are long-term sleepers trying to gain sensitive information
of use to terrorists.
Some are even believed to have attended terror training camps in
Pakistan or Afghanistan.
Fanatics who infiltrate the Government or the "Critical National
Infrastructure" - vital utilities such as water, electricity, transport
and communications - have a number of objectives.
These include trying to gain information on what the law enforcement
agencies know about the activities of fellow Islamist extremists and how
to evade the attention of police and the security services.
They may also try to obtain information or intelligence to help them to
carry out acts of terrorism.
This involves getting access to premises or individuals "with the
immediate purpose" of mounting an attack or obtaining sensitive
information to facilitate a later atrocity.
The extremists might also seek information which is of "indirect use" to
the planning of a terrorist attack - such as getting access to banking
information to raise money through fraud, gaining insider knowledge
about airport security and surveillance measures on the London
Underground.
Security sources say there is evidence that UK-based terrorists have
discussed the possibility of attacking national infrastructure targets
with the help of a "sympathetic insider".
MI5 has warned in the past that suspects with "strong links" to Osama
Bin Laden have tried to join the British security services and, in
January last year, exiled radical Omar Bakri claimed that Islamic
extremists were infiltrating the police and other public sector
organisations.
College teachers must be "vigilant" in tackling the threat posed by
violent extremists who attempt to recruit teenage students to terrorism,
ministers said yesterday.
Al Qaeda supporters seek to "groom" impressionable young people and
staff should be prepared to tell the police if they have concerns, draft
Government guidance said.
The guidance, published for consultation, is aimed at colleges teaching
students aged 14 and over, including more than 700,000 aged 16 to 18,
and follows similar guidelines for universities.
The terrorist traffic warden
A terrorist jailed for his involvement in a bomb attack on the Paris
Metro later came to England and got a job as a traffic warden.
Mustapha Boutarfa, 32, was arrested by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist
squad in 1996 and extradited from Britain to France two years later.
He stood trial for his auxiliary role in the 1995 attack on the St
Michel station by a notorious Islamic militant group, in which eight
were killed and 80 wounded, and was given a two-year prison sentence.
But after his release, Boutarfa, who held dual French and Algerian
nationality, managed to get back into the UK with his wife and children
and secured the job as a parking attendant in Richmond-upon-Thames,
Surrey, with NCP Services.
Boutarfa's secret would probably never have come to light had he not
accused a van driver of assaulting him in a row over a parking ticket in
October 2005.
It led to the sensational disclosure about his past in open court.
That case was then dropped and he was charged with fraud but walked away
with a 12-month suspended sentence. He has quit his job.
It is still not clear how he was allowed back into Britain.
Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/n
ews.html?in_article_id=513771&in_page_id=1770
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