Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > M 15 establishing new base in Scotland -Muslims cry victim at being scrutinised as possible terror source
M 15 establishing new base in Scotland -Muslims cry victim at being scrutinised as possible terror source
February 6, 2005
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Muslims in Pollokshields, Glasgow. Security forces are concerned that new Islamic Fundamentalist Groups are being formed in Scotland. |
MI5 targeting the wrong people in Glasgow
DAN McDOUGALL
SOMETHING extraordinary happened in British public life on 20 March, 2001. Sir Stephen Lander, then director-general of the security service MI5, made his first public appearance, delivering a carefully coded lecture to the members of a defence think-tank in central London.
Predictably, his speech gave little away, bearing the tiresome hallmarks of the consummate mandarin. What was important was that he had appeared at all. He was, after all, only the second MI5 head to reveal his identity. "I thought it would be sensible for once to let the hounds see the fox," he later quipped with a wry smile.
Today, nobody in our society bridges the gap between the shadowy world of MI5 and the police better than Lander. He was recently made head of the nation's new Serious Organised Crime Agency - the so-called UK FBI, created to tackle serious crime and the threat of Islamic terrorism. To many, his appointment represents the final fusion between the public and private faces of law enforcement in modern Britain.
The groundbreaking revelation in The Scotsman that MI5 is to open its first official Scottish station in Glasgow shows that the perceived threat of fundamentalism is not confined to London. MI5 is currently trying to recruit an extra 1,000 spies for these regions.
A major cause for concern is that the extra spies will bring a 50 per cent increase in the numbers actively engaged in Britain's war against terror - more than at any time since the Second World War. Nobody is denying that the vast majority of the extra recruits will be ranged against Islamic extremist groups operating in the UK. Although many of the MI5 recruits will be linguists, desk officers and specialist advisors who will teach businesses how to tackle potential threats, others will be surveillance experts and undercover agents.
Among Glasgow's 80,000 strong Asian population, the message from MI5's vast headquarters on Vauxhall Bridge in London couldn't be clearer: "We are watching you." Here, in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi-dominated communities of Pollokshields and Govanhill, amidst the fruit stalls and halal butchers, members of the Muslim community are angry, disappointed, and a little frightened.
For many, "retribution" for the war against terrorism is translated more simply into random insults from white members of the public and, particularly at weekends after closing time, racist attacks on their own street corners. The concern here is on a sliding scale. While some community leaders say they are witnessing solidarity not hostility, others insist shopkeepers are coming forward with tales of abuse and that, in extreme circumstances, women are having the traditional hijab and niqab coverings ripped from their faces.
"Since September 11 people have viewed us with suspicion. That isn't exactly surprising," Southside shopkeeper Ahmed Shaheen says. "I have regular customers who come in and joke about me being part of an al-Qaeda cell and although it seems meant in a humorous way, it's undeniably the general perception, and sometimes this manifests itself in racist insults and attacks against me and my family. We are all looked at with suspicion these days and many of us feel persecuted and under siege by this scrutiny. I'm not a terrorist. I'm a hard-working Scots Asian."
Dr Manar Tayan, a semi-retired surgeon who publishes a weekly magazine for Glasgow Muslims entitled Friday People which urges the boycott of all Israeli and American products, believes the scrutiny of MI5 is nothing new. But he claims that having them on the doorstep will only anger local communities, as well as heightening the suspicions of the white population.
"For MI5 to announce they are coming to Glasgow to set up a station a matter of kilometres away from Scotland's largest Asian population is to effectively place the Muslims in this city under a huge microscope," he says. "This is undeniably confrontational, that is certainly how it seems. We understand the need to fight the growth of fundamentalism but the sensitivities of the Asian community should be considered.
"Setting up an MI5 station on their doorstep is inflammatory.This is where they have publicly claimed the threat of terrorism will stem from - and we will bear the brunt of any repercussions from arrests they make in our community. Political moves like this serve only to divide communities like ours which is largely hard-working and law-abiding."
LIKE MANY Muslim community leaders, Tayan believes that since Scotland Yard and MI5 began the widespread arrests of Muslim suspects, what was previously a creeping Islamophobia has picked up pace. It's a phenomenon that Strathclyde Police have admitted they are aware of.
Glasgow-based human rights lawyer Amar Anwar goes further, accusing the security services of causing fear and paranoia within the Arab community. Anwar also claims a number of Algerians have even approached him claiming they had been harassed by members of Special Branch who were trying to recruit them as paid spies to inform on Scotland's Arab community. "A number of my clients are petrified and intimidated by the abuse and harassment they have suffered from Special Branch and members of the security services," he says.
Making a formal approach to MI5 asking them to justify their public intervention in Scotland predictably receives short thrift, but you don't have to look much further than the case of Abdullah el-Faisal, jailed at the Old Bailey last year for inciting followers to kill non-believers in acts of terrorism. Following the high-profile trial of this self-styled sheikh and Muslim cleric - who tried to recruit British schoolboys into terrorist training camps - it emerged that an attempt had been made to bribe the judge.
Common Serjeant of London Peter Beaumont received a letter promising him £50,000 if he acquitted the cleric. It had been sent from Glasgow. Yet despite a Strathclyde Police investigation, the source of the bribe remains anonymous.
Then there is the perceived threat in Scotland, particularly in Glasgow and Dundee, from groups such as al-Muhajiroun and the lower-profile Hizbut Tahrir, which espouse extreme doctrines but have no clear links with terrorism. Both groups are known to have recruited members at the margins of mosque life since the late 1990s and more actively since 11 September. Not surprisingly, Muslim leaders in Britain have vilified al-Muhajiroun and others like them. Dr Ghuyasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, called al-Muhajiroun a "lunatic fringe".
Security analysts say the restructuring of MI5 into these regions reflects the threat of groups who are dispersed throughout the British population. Since 9/11, British counter-terrorist police have arrested suspected terrorists across the UK. In 2002, nine Algerians were arrested in Edinburgh and charged under the Terrorism Act, though the charges were later withdrawn. The arrests were made by Lothian and Borders Police acting partly on information from MI5. Other similar raids across Britain have resulted in an equally low success rate: of 664 people arrested under the Terrorism Act since 11 September, 2001, a fifth have been charged and only 17 have been convicted. Security officials have even hinted this is actually part of a deliberate strategy intended to keep potential terrorists off-guard, but civil liberties campaigners are outraged that this infringes basic freedoms
ONE OF THE KEY questions is exactly what tactics the intelligence services will use north of the Border. It is widely accepted that undercover officers, agents from MI5's A branch - the so-called "Watchers Unit" - are already active in Scotland, bugging homes and telephone lines and placing tracker devices on cars. For phone tapping there is the "Tinkerbell" squad: specialist British Telecom engineers based at the BT building in south-west London. When the information required cannot be obtained from tapping phones or bugging premises, A branch can always call in the "Rat Catchers" - specialists at intercepting mail and opening letters.
The true extent of the technology at MI5's disposal is a closely guarded secret, but surpasses anything available to the police. Indeed the agency is so protective of the highly sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment at its disposal that it frequently resorts to public immunity certificates in court - the "gagging orders" which featured in the Scott Inquiry into the Matrix-Churchill affair - to stop defendants discovering its secrets.
History teaches us that spies like to practise their dark arts under deep cover, but for Britain's intelligence operatives it is more than clear that this is now becoming increasingly difficult. The dawn of the "Post 9/11 era" has forced them to operate in areas that have traditionally been the territory of the police, and therefore previously subject to public scrutiny: areas such as combating domestic terrorism, organised crime, drugs, and money laundering.
Yesterday, in a rundown corner of Pollokshields in Glasgow's Southside, graffiti on the rusting shutters of Shaheen's off-licence is covered by a thick film of soot and grime from heavy local traffic. "I tried to get the spraypaint out with a wire brush and turps," Ahmed tells me, pointing at the filthy grey metal with a wooden pole, "But it won't budge, so I just refuse to clean it. The police shouldn't be watching me or my friends at the mosque, they should be arresting the idiots who are daubing ‘Paki Bastards' all over my shopfront and spitting at my wife on the street. We are just trying to live our lives in peace and prosperity, that's why our grandfathers came here in the first place."
This article:
http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=130922005
Secret services:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587
Websites:
MI5
http://www.mi5.gov.uk/
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http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587&id=69552005
Tackling the invisible enemy submerged within the UK
ANALYSIS
SAJJAN M GOHEL
It does not wear a uniform, it is not located in any one place or country - it is submerged within the civilian fabric of society. There is a new generation of terrorists: European born and educated, possessing all the western social skills, EU passports and no criminal records.
Foreign law enforcement agencies have repeatedly claimed that Britain provides a fertile breeding ground for terrorists. And there is an increasing fear that young impressionable Muslims in Britain are being indoctrinated by some radical clerics to become terrorists, within the UK and also for export, to go off to remote corners of the world to kill and be killed.
On August 18th 2004, eight men arrested in anti-terrorism raids were charged with conspiring to commit murder and launch radioactive, chemical or explosive attacks. Three of them are also accused of possessing documents useful to those plotting terrorist offences, including plans of the New York stock exchange and the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. The suspects were arrested in London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Lancashire.
Just as the terror cells are firmly entrenched in the major cities throughout the UK and not confined to specific parts of southern England, the security services also need to be covering every region of the country, to expand their theatre of operations and to have a permanent presence in order to act quickly and successfully.
The Joint Terrorist Analysis Centre (JTAC) of MI5 processes on average approximately 100 items of intelligence every week that concern potential plots. Some terrorist cells have been infiltrated but the task takes time, as was discovered with attempts to penetrate the IRA. Penetrating suspected Islamic terrorist cells has the obvious additional hurdles of language, religion and race.
The British security and intelligence services, handicapped by limited resources, have nevertheless performed effectively, clinically and decisively in thwarting a number of terror plots. Their role is seriously underrated.
Some argue that Britain has not suffered an atrocity for the simple reason that it has been a staging area, a home for the terrorists, and one does not attack one's own home. But the rules of the game have changed. The Rubicon was crossed with the devastating attacks on British interests in Turkey, in November, 2003 and the March, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid.
The level of vigilance in the UK must remain high for the foreseeable future. Britain, for some time has been a playground for extremists and it may now become a major battleground for terrorists.
• Sajjan M. Gohel is Director for International Security at the Asia Pacific Foundation in London
This article:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587&id=69552005
Terrorism in the UK:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=758
Secret services:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587
Websites:
MI5
http://www.mi5.gov.uk/
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587&id=70502005
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A far cry from the traditional James Bond image of spying, MI5 gathers intelligence on fundamentalist Islamic groups and Irish terrorist groups. MI5 has now advertised for new staff from all walks of life. Picture: Tony Marsh |
MI5 plans Scottish base to target terrorists
JAMES KIRKUP
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
• MI5 plans first permanent Scottish office to bolster counter-terrorism efforts
• Move comes as security service announces recruitment drive for 1000 staff
• Agency criticised over anti-terror raids with only 17 convictions since 2001
Key quote
"We can confirm that we are looking at our future accommodation requirements. The majority of our staff will continue to be based in central London," said the statement, made via the Home Office in London" - MI5 statement to The Scotsman
Story in full MI5, the domestic security service, is preparing to establish a permanent office in Scotland for the first time, The Scotsman can reveal.
As part of a major expansion of the organisation intended to bolster nationwide counter- terrorism efforts, MI5 chiefs and Home Office officials have identified Glasgow as the site for one of the service's new regional offices.
MI5 is currently recruiting up to 1,000 staff and refocusing its operations on the potential threat posed by Islamic terrorist groups that may seek to recruit UK residents and carry out attacks in this country.
All the major Scottish police forces maintain their own Special Branch squad and often co-operate with visiting MI5 officers: in 2002 and 2003, terrorism suspects were detained in Edinburgh and Glasgow. But the creation of the Glasgow bureau will mark the first time the agency has had a fixed presence north of the Border.
The final site of the Glasgow office is uncertain, but Pacific Quay, home to the Scottish Criminal Records Office, sometimes hosts seconded MI5 agents.
In London, MI5's permanent headquarters is Thames House, an anonymous and heavily fortified block by the river in Westminster that also hosts the Northern Ireland office. Most of the agency's staff - at present 2,200 - will remain in London after the reorganisation.
While the name and location of the London headquarters has been disclosed to the public in a new spirit of openness, the details of the Scottish office and other regional branches will not be disclosed, since they will be considered "operational" posts.
Glasgow's large Asian population is thought to have played a key role in the decision, though the west of Scotland's links to organised crime gangs and Northern Ireland's terrorist groups also contributed.
Manchester is another city earmarked as the base for a regional "intelligence cell".
The city has been linked to previous high-profile counter-terrorism operations: in 2003, a police officer was killed during a raid to arrest three men suspected of manufacturing the poison ricin.
According to MI5's most recent published assessment of the British security situation, "the most significant terrorist threat comes from al-Qaeda and associated networks".
Security analysts say the restructuring of MI5 reflects the threat of groups that are dispersed throughout the British population. Since the September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, British counter-terrorist police have arrested suspected terrorists across the UK. In 2002, nine Algerians were arrested in Edinburgh and charged under the Terrorism Act, though the charges were later withdrawn for lack of admissible evidence.
The arrests were made by Lothian and Borders Police acting partly on information from MI5.
Other similar raids across Britain have resulted in an equally low success rate: of 664 people arrested under the Terrorism Act since September 2001, a fifth have been charged and only 17 have been convicted. Security officials have hinted this is actually part of a deliberate strategy intended to keep potential terrorists off-guard, but civil liberties campaigners are concerned that this infringes basic freedoms.
As part of the expansion, MI5 is mounting a high-profile recruitment campaign, even advertising in newspapers for would-be graduate recruits. While the recruitment publicity has played up the service's interest in people from all backgrounds, priority is still being given to people with extensive security or military experience.
In recent months, MI5 has been approaching former Army Intelligence Corps officers, and both serving and former members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The skills and experience gained during the former Royal Ulster Constabulary's 30-year struggle with paramilitary groups make Northern Irish officers well-suited to M15, and the relative peace of recent years has left many security experts there under-employed.
Still, one person approached by the security service and asked to help establish the Glasgow operation told The Scotsman that MI5 is having to contend with stiff competition.
"The right sort of people are getting offers left, right and centre to go to Iraq or Afghanistan to do private security work, and the money on offer there is a hell of a lot better," the person said.
The formalising of MI5's presence in Scotland will not entail any legal or legislative changes - the service has operated north of the Border without general public awareness.
The activities of MI5 are wholly reserved to the Westminster parliament, where the intelligence and security committee of MPs and peers carries out a limited form of parliamentary oversight.
Nonetheless, Scottish ministers will be kept informed of MI5 activities. Since the agency's officers have no power to arrest or charge suspects, they necessarily work closely with the police, especially Special Branch.
As a matter of courtesy, Jack McConnell, the First Minister, receives regular briefings from MI5 and has, several times in the past, met Eliza Manningham-Buller, the service's director-general, as well as her deputy and other directors, whose names cannot be published.
In a rare departure from the usual policy of absolute silence about its activities and plans, MI5 this week issued a statement to The Scotsman about the plan.
"We can confirm that we are looking at our future accommodation requirements. The majority of our staff will continue to be based in central London," said the statement, made via the Home Office in London. "We are not prepared to discuss specific locations."
A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland last night said it was "not policy" to "comment on operational matters concerning a key partner agency with whom we enjoy an excellent working relationship".
This article:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587&id=70502005
Secret services:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=587
Terrorism in the UK:
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=758
Websites:
MI5
http://www.mi5.gov.uk/
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