Birmingham

‘major’ centre

for al-Qaeda

recruitment

Birmingham remains a major recruiting centre for al-Qaeda extremists, according to a leaked report compiled by the intelligence services.

The document, drawn up by the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch, warns that a network of terror cells exists in the UK. The main concentrations of extremists are said to be in Birmingham, London and Luton.

Details of the report emerged a week after four men were charged with terror offences following raids by police on houses in Birmingham.

Three of the men were charged with engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism, and a fourth man was charged with failure to disclose information relating to an act of terrorism. All of the men live in Birmingham.

The secret report states that Britain will remain “a high-priority target” for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda for the foreseeable future.

The threat from Islamist extremists is “diverse and widely distributed” and the number of terrorists in Britain is “difficult to judge”, states the report.

But it cites estimates from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre that there are “some thousands of extremists in the UK committed to supporting jihadi activities, either in the UK or abroad”.

It states: “For the foreseeable future the UK will continue to be a high-priority target for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda. It will face a threat from British nationals, including Muslim converts, and UK-based foreign terrorists, as well as terrorists planning attacks from abroad.”

In 2006, the then head of the Security Service, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, said that MI5 was aware of 30 major terrorist plots and had 1,600 people in 200 cells under surveillance. Last year, her successor Jonathan Evans said the number had grown to 2,000.

The document paints a picture of the kinds of people caught up in extremist activity in the UK. It states: “The majority of extremists are British nationals of south Asian, mainly Pakistani, origin but there are also extremists from north and east Africa, Iraq and the Middle East, and a number of converts. The overwhelming majority of extremists are male, typically in the 18-30 age range.

“The main extremist concentrations are in London, Birmingham, with significant extremist networks in the South East, notably Luton.

“Extremist networks are principally engaged in spreading their extremist message, training, fund-raising and procuring non-lethal military equipment to support the jihads in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, and sending recruits to the conflicts.”

A Home Office spokesman later added: “We know that the terrorist threat we face is real and is increasingly complex.

“The threat level is set by JTAC and remains at `severe’ as it has done for some time. We have always been clear - as has the director general of the Security Service - that there are many plots, individuals and groups under investigation. We do not elaborate on specific plots or individuals.”