The United Kingdom is facing a terror threat at a level not seen since the 1970s, a newly appointed independent reviewer of terrorism laws has warned.
Speaking to British media for the first time since being appointed to the role, Max Hill said Daesh (ISIL) was planning “indiscriminate attacks on civilians” regardless of race or color on a scale similar to those perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) some 40 years ago.
Last week, Hill was appointed as the government's new independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.
Hill told the media that Daesh was targeting UK cities and said there was an “enormous ongoing risk which none of us can ignore.”
The new watchdog also expressed concern at the return of hundreds of British terrorists fighting in Syria.
“It's an enormous concern that large numbers - we know this means at least hundreds of British citizens who have left this country in order to fight - are now returning or may be about to return,” Hill stated.
He further warned that British teenagers as young as 14 were being radicalized by videos and hate speech online provided by the terrorist group. Hill also pledged to review anti-terror measures over concerns about any infringements of freedom.
Hill has been the Queen’s council for nine years and has experience in both defending and prosecuting complex cases involving terrorism, homicide, violent crime, high-value fraud and corporate crime.
He successfully prosecuted the failed 21/7 bombers who had intentions to target three London underground trains and a bus on July 21, 2005 in an attempted repeat of a similar attack two weeks earlier.
The UK is among a number of states supporting the anti-government militancy in Syria since 2011.
