It has been claimed that there are over 200 suicide bombers living in Britain and planning attacks, a report in The Sun has said, warning ministers about the scale of the threat in the run-up to next year’s Olympics.
According to the paper, a secret government report says the would-be bombers are among 2,000 extremists believed to be based in the UK.
Intelligence officials fear public areas, rather than the Games venues, could be targeted.
It quoted one source as saying that the suicide fanatics would be stopped only by a “chance encounter” or an intelligence operation.
Referring to the 7/7 carnage in London in 2005, an intelligence official said, “We may have had only one successful suicide attack in Britain but the tactic is an enduring threat. The terrorists are learning all the time and adapting.”
Official papers published online by WikiLeaks this year showed MI6 officers believed the UK faced a wave of attacks.
It said, “The internal threat is growing more dangerous because some extremists are conducting non-lethal training without leaving the country.”
The Sun has told how up to 70 jailed terrorists being freed this year may not be monitored properly due to cuts in services.
They include Saajit Badat, jailed for 13 years in 2005 for plotting with shoe bomber Richard Reid, and Moinul Abedin, who got 20 years in 2002 for making bomb detonators.
Harry Fletcher, of the National Association of Probation Officers, said, “These men require maximum supervision and we won’t be able to do it.”