Terror suspects could be stripped of their British passport and made stateless under a new crackdown on extremists.
Home Secretary Theresa May is considering the move as she faces mounting pressure to strengthen Britain’s anti-terror laws.
She has reportedly seized passports from around 12 individuals allegedly linked to terror groups, stressing that British citizenship is a “privilege, not a right”.
But she has now asked her officials to examine how to strip suspects of their passports, even if it makes them stateless, while keeping within human rights conventions.
The move, which is likely to be popular with the public, was criticised by legal experts. Simon Cox, migration lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, told the Financial Times: “States like Zimbabwe will see it as legitimising their tactic of using statelessness to clamp down on political dissent.” But a Home Office spokeswoman said: “The Government will take all necessary steps to protect the public, including pursuing deprivation of citizenship, where appropriate.”
Charles Farr, director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Home Office, was today facing questions at the Commons home affairs committee over controversial terrorism prevention and investigation measures, which replaced tougher control orders that had powers to relocate suspects away from London.
Two out of 10 suspects on Tpims have gone on the run in the capital. Police are still hunting for Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, who disappeared 11 days ago from a mosque in Acton. He is thought to have fought in support of Somali terror group al-Shabab.
Ibrahim Magag, 29, who is suspected of attending terror training in Somalia, is also on the run after breaching his Tpim last December and reportedly escaping in a black cab in London.
