Any potential return of British jihadists to the UK is “a matter of great concern”, a Home Office minister has said, amid worries about the fallout of the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
Dame Angela Eagle told Times Radio that intelligence services are “keeping a very, very close eye” on the situation on the ground, and the UK is in touch with allies.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday about concerns that jihadists from the UK being held in prisons in northern Syria could be freed if jails and camps are shut down following the fall of Bashar Assad.
Asked about the prospect of jihadists who are British citizens returning to the UK, Dame Angela told the radio station: “Rest assured that the intelligence services are keeping a very close eye on what’s going on and we’re in contact with all of our allies to see how this pans out.”
She added: “Clearly any potential return of jihadists is a matter of great concern, which is why we’ll be keeping a very, very close eye on how this situation develops in the coming days and weeks.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Angela – who serves as the minister of state for border security and asylum – said that it is a concern that “we constantly act on”.
Asked about whether the prospect of British jihadis returning to the UK was worrying, she said: “Obviously our security services will have an eye on any such things and we communicate and co-operate with our neighbours.
“Our intelligence services know what’s going on with respect to all of that, so we’ll keep a very close eye on how that works out.”
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Pushed further on the sense of concern, she added: “Of course it’s a concern and it’s a concern that we constantly act on.”
The UK suspended all asylum claims from Syria on Monday in response to the events of the weekend.
Millions of Syrians fled the country after the outbreak of civil war and thousands were granted asylum in the UK, but the Home Office said on Monday decisions on applications would be paused while the department reviews the situation.
Dame Angela said that the “fluid” nature of events means that officials need to “wait” before any decision would be made to restart decisions.
When asked why cases had been suspended, she told Times Radio that “one of the main reasons why people were fleeing and claiming asylum was to get away from the Assad regime”.
She added: “Because things are so fluid, we need to wait a little bit before we try to recommence asylum decisions in a territory where things are changing so rapidly.”