More than 2,000 people in UK linked to terrorism, terror expert warns
Chris Phillips, former head of National Counter Terrorism Security Office, reveals thousands of Brits linked to terrorism
AT least 2,000 people in the UK have links to terrorism, an expert said last night.
Chris Phillips, who formerly led the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: “Anyone this way inclined here can get access to these materials.
“It’s naive to think there are not people doing it. There are over 2,000 people in the UK with terrorist affiliations.
“We just can’t keep them all under surveillance. And those are just the ones we know about.”
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He added: "These low-level attacks have so many options to make something that's quite lethal.
"Historically we've stopped the majority of attacks but that gives a false sense of security this is all happening on the continent - it's naive to think there are not people out there doing it.
"There's so many mad, bad and sad people dotted around Europe that you only need to get one or two lined up with this group and you've got massive problems - you wouldn't even need the canisters.
"Information companies are making systems which are very encrypted but they are also making the job of the police and security services very difficult.
"How much are we prepared to put up with this if they go and kill 20, 30 people?"