UK to ban British 'jihadists' from returning home

UK to ban British 'jihadists' from returning home
British prime minister David Cameron announces a raft of measures against Britons suspected of fighting in Iraq and Syria.
2 min read
14 November, 2014
Britons & Australians are fighting for IS (AFP)
British militants fighting in Iraq and Syria will not be allowed back in to the UK, and those seeking to join them from the UK will have their passports seized,  British Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday.

Airlines that do not comply with Britain's no-fly lists may also be banned from using British airports.

The plans were announced in a speech by Cameron to the Australian parliament, and are expected to be part of a forthcoming counter-terror law be introduced in the UK parliament.

"[There will be] new powers for police at ports to seize passports, to stop suspects travelling and to stop British nationals returning to the UK unless they do so on our terms," said Cameron, who is in Australia to attend the G20 leaders' summit in Brisbane.

Over 500 Britons and Australians are believed to be fighting in Iraq and
     It's not foreign policy. No, the root cause of the challenge we face is the extremist narrative.
- David Cameron
Syria for various Islamic militant groups, mainly Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS) and al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Cameron rejected the argument that foreign policy was a driver for the attraction of groups like IS to British Muslims, and instead highlighted extremism.

"It's not foreign policy. No, the root cause of the challenge we face is the extremist narrative," Cameron said.

"So we must confront this extremism in all its forms. We must ban extremist preachers from our countries. We must root out extremism from our schools, universities and prisons."

"Our terms"

In his speech Cameron explained that being escorted back to the UK and then facing prosecution, bail-style reporting conditions and de-radicalisation courses would be the UK's "terms" should British militants want to return home.

Border guards and airport police would also have new powers to seize passports from those suspected of planning to travel abroad for terrorism.

"We think about the civil liberty implications, we think about the effect on other countries, but at the end of the day I make choices on what I believe is necessary to keep the British public safe and I think this new power is important in that regard," Cameron said.