Suspected UK terrorist arrested at Heathrow Airport after Turkey deportation
14 November 2019, 14:40
A British terror suspect has been arrested at Heathrow Airport hours after Turkey announced it would deport an alleged Isis fighter to the UK.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed a 26-year-old man had been arrested at the UK's busiest airport on Thursday after arriving on an inbound flight from Turkey.
He was detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and remains in police custody.
The Met confirmed the arrest was Syria-related and enquiries continue.
His identity has not yet been revealed. The Home Office refused to disclose any details, saying it does not comment on individual cases.
The deportation came as a surprise for British security forces, with counter-terror police being scrambled to Heathrow whilst the plane was in the air.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkey deported one British and seven German suspected Isis jihadists back to their home countries.
The move was confirmed by interior ministry officials to media outlets close to the government in Ankara.
Turkey had previously said it would deport an American alleged Isis fighter, who was stuck in a border zone, back to the United States.
Authorities in Ankara announced the return of the American after he was refused entry to Athens, leaving him stranded at the Greek border.
The US later agreed to take the suspect back.
There are roughly 1,200 foreign Isis convicts and suspects being held in Turkish jails, with the number of British prisoners unknown.
Only one UK national being held in Turkey has been named - 35-year-old Aine Davis. He is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence in a Turkish jail.
Earlier this month, Turkey’s interior minister Suleyman Soylu said: "Countries can’t just revoke the citizenship of such ex-terrorists and expect Turkey to take care of them; this is unacceptable to us and it’s also irresponsible.
"Turkey is not a hotel for foreign terrorists."
US President Donald Trump, speaking in an exclusive LBC interview with Nigel Farage, blasted the UK for "refusing to take back" the infamous British "Beatles" jihadists.
He told the Brexit Party leader: "We captured them, we’ve got them, the Beatles we have – we have two of the Beatles, they were the worst.
"They came from your territory and you guys, you know, possibly incredibly smart, but maybe not, you didn’t want to take them back.
"So, as usual, the United States gets stuck with it and we’re handling it in a certain way and watching it very carefully."
The interview came shortly after the US leader declared that Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a US-led military operation in Syria.
In another exclusive interview with LBC News, Jeremy Corbyn said says al-Baghdadi "should have been captured to face trial."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson branded Mr Corbyn's comments "naive to the point of dangerous" over the comments and it would have been "unrealistic" to apprehend him.
