A West Midlands MP is demanding answers following claims that a dangerous al-Qaida leader is continuing his campaign against the West from a Worcestershire prison.
Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire) has asked for a meeting with Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, or Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary.
He has also met with the governor of Long Lartin prison, near Evesham, Worcestershire, which was named in a detailed report into Islamic extremism in Britian’s jails.
Counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation has claimed that Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas on the internet from the prison, where he is being detained as he awaits deportation.
The Quilliam Foundation said the study, to be published on Monday, was based largely on accounts sneaked out of prisons by high-profile extremists.
Qatada was interviewed by Egyptian extremist Adel Abdel Bary, who then published his comments, accordint to the think tank.
Its report said: “In June 2008 Abu Qatada, one of the world’s most influential pro-jihadist theologians, was interviewed by Adel Abdel Bary in Long Lartin prison.
“The interview was then transcribed as a collection of fatwas – with Abu Qatada’s answers presented in form of a series of legal rulings supplied in response to specific questions by Abdel Bary. The transcription of this Arabic-language interview (or possibly even a recording of it) was then passed to an unknown person outside the prison who then posted it into a prominent Arabic-language jihadi website (www.tawhed.ws).
“The resulting document was a major declaration of support for al-Qaeda’s ideology and an attack on al-Qaeda’s Muslim critics. For example, Abu Qatada’s fatwas contained declarations of overt support for jihadi movements worldwide, his reflections on leading salafi scholars and theological arguments legitimising the murder of Muslims opposed to al-Qaeda. “
The report adds: “There is clearly a major problem at Long Lartin”.
Mr Luff said: “The safety of our nation depends on all the inmates of prisons like Long Lartin being kept securely. Very special considerations apply to the Islamic extremist detainees whom the United Kingdom is often seeking to deport to foreign jurisdictions to stand trial for offences there.”
He added: “While these deeply dangerous men remain in British custody, we must be absolutely confident that they can do no harm – and today’s revelations suggest we cannot be confident of that.
“The government must move quickly to address the exceptionally serious issues this report raises.”
A Prison’s Service spokesman said: “It is unfortunate that the Quilliam Foundation did not see fit to share their report with us, and that they did not apply to visit any prisons or speak to those who run them, in doing their research. However, we remain willing to consider practical ideas for dealing with the issues faced by the prison service.
“We are extremely skilled in managing all challenging and dangerous criminals, and adapting to evolving risks and dangers. We run a dedicated, expert unit which leads work to tackle the risk of extremism and radicalisation in prison.
“All our high security prisons operate enhanced monitoring and intelligence-gathering on those convicted or suspected of involvement in terrorism or extremism. We work with closely with the Home Office, police and partner agencies. Staff are supported with the information and training they need to deal with these individuals.”
