Terror cops tackle 100 suspects stopped at UK borders EVERY week

BORDER officers flag up 100 people to counter-terror cops every week, it has been revealed.

 


FLAGGED UP: Border officers raise alarm about 100 people each week

The individuals are flagged up after being interrogated by border officers on entering the UK.
Sir Charles Montgomery, director general of the Border Force, made the revelation when being questioned over the exodus of Britons to fight for ISIS in Syria or Iraq.
Hundreds of suspects are deemed worthy of a "deeper delve" each month, Sir Charles said.
About 800 people have gone, while roughly half have come back to the UK, it is believed.
Sir Charles told MPs: "On the inbound journey, my officers at the desks do a fair amount of their own personal questioning and profiling and on a weekly basis we have been on average referring over a hundred people from that process to counter-terrorism."

 
 

CHECKS: About 100 people are flagged up to cops each week at UK borders

Asked what the Border Force does in instances where individuals are suspected of returning from the region, he said that his organisation is not an "investigative or prosecuting unit" on such cases.
He added: "We operate very closely alongside counter-terrorism police and we will refer those individuals for further questioning, which may be a very straight forward one minute discussion or it may go somewhat deeper."
Sir Charles stressed that the vast majority of those stopped are not of interest to police after further enquiries, although a percentage get taken forward for further investigation.
Border force officers look at "advanced information of travel" to check for "known targets of interest", Sir Charles said, adding: "The second thing we do even before any travel has been conducted is to look at travel patterns of people who are conducting certain behaviours or travelling in certain ways.

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JOURNEYS: Paris mastermind Abdelhamid Abaooud travelled across Europe to Syria several times

“We operate very closely alongside counter-terrorism police and we will refer those individuals for further questioning, which may be a very straight forward one minute discussion or it may go somewhat deeper”

Sir Charles Montgomery, director general of UK Border Force

"The first is about targeting known individuals, the second is about targeting unknowns but people who are behaving in a way which is suspicious to the authorities."
Sir Charles also told the Commons committee that increased checking of freight and passengers were introduced on selected routes into the country within half an hour of news of the Paris attacks last month.
Concerns have been raised about the passage of terror suspects through Europe since the attacks, with mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud and fugitive gunman Salah Abdeslam thought to have made journeys across the continent to Syria.