Terror threat greater than ten years ago as IS radicalisation tactics near impossible to control, experts warn

And Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies said the threat posed by Islamist terrorism had worsened in the decade since the London bombings.

Bradford-born Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Mohammed Siddique Khan, 30, Jermaine Lindsay, 19, and Hasib Hussain 18, blew themselves up when they detonated bombs on three trains and a bus, killing 52 people and leaving a devastating path of destruction in their wake.

The rise of Islamic State (IS) and other extremists in the last ten years has made it even more difficult to combat their threat, according to experts.

And they are well-versed in using modern technology, such as social media, to recruit new members.

Counter-terrorism officers work closely with organisations like Bradford Council and religious groups to try to prevent any future terrorists like Tanweer from the city.

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Professor Paul Rogers, of the peace studies department at the University of Bradford, said: "There is more work going on in Bradford to prevent bad relations between groups than in most other places but it is quite an uphill struggle.

"It is easier for a group like the IS to get its message across through areas such as social media. It is difficult to prevent that. It knows how to do that very well.

"IS wants worse community relations in Britain and more anti-Muslim feeling. There is a trap involved here.

"Within Britain, there is less of a threat of an attack the magnitude of July 7 because of the large increase in counter terrorism agencies but there is more of a risk to British people overseas than there was ten years ago, as demonstrated by the Tunisian attacks."

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the country's most senior counter-terrorism officer, said officers are now faced with a "completely different profile" as IS exploits modern technology in an attempt to create a "violent cult".

He said: "The threat we face today is very different. More than ever before, we need the help of communities. It's absolutely essential that everyone plays their part.

"We've seen another step change in terrorism in the way it works and connects across the world in the last couple of years.

"We are not simply confronting a terrorist organisation like al Qaida or the IRA which works in a secret way and plots and plans what it wants to do secretly."

As reported in yesterday's Telegraph & Argus, the Bradford Imams Forum has issued a strongly-worded condemnation of IS for its distorted interpretation of Islam which encourages its followers to commit whole-scale murder.

Mohammed Butt, the Forum's secretary, said: "It does not seem to abate.

"It has become a global phenomenon. Groups like IS are a lot more sophisticated now. It is becoming more of a challenge."

Last month, three Bradford sisters and their nine children and split into two groups to cross into Syria.

Khadija Dawood, 30, Sugra Dawood, 34, and Zohra Dawood, 33, and their children, aged between three and 15, sparked an international police search when they disappeared after travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Syed Choudhury, 19, of Bradford, faces jail for plotting to go to Syria to fight for IS.

He was due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey today after he pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism before he was arrested in December last year.

His trial heard how he fell under the influence of older men he regarded as more learned after he left home in Bradford to go to college in Cardiff.

Shipley MP Mr Davies said: "In terms of the threat from terrorism and the amount of people being radicalised who want to do harm to us, we are in a much more dangerous position now than we were ten years ago.

"I think, to be perfectly honest, given that, it should make us all appreciate what the security services do, day in day out, to keep us safe."

Mr Davies said they should be given "whatever tools they need" to do this work, and that was why he backed Government plans to give the security services greater access to emails and phone records.

Bana Gora, chief executive of the Muslim Women's Council, said: "History shows that despite their sophisticated propaganda machine, groups like IS suffer the same fate as their predecessors and in time will be confined to history.

"The real challenge is to stand united and condemn extremism in all its forms.

"As Muslims we have a positive role to play in ensuring that any atrocities are not committed in our name, indeed to stand up for what we believe Islam teaches us and that is to take up the sword of words in order to take away their sword of violence, hatred and vitriol."

Ishtiaq Ahmed, of Bradford Council for Mosques, said a collective effort was needed to combat the threat of radicalisation in Bradford.

He said: "Radicalisation is a major concern for all of us. We need to find fresh and new ways of communicating with our young people, to give them a sense of belonging.

"We need to make sure they are an integral part of the society they are living in and their concerns are listened to.

"We need to be vigilant and proactive.

"It is becoming more and more challenging to combat radicalisation. In terms of their propaganda, they have broadened their strategy for recruiting.

"Negative forces are leaving no stones unturned to reach out to recruit people."

Former Keighley MP Ann Cryer argued for greater community integration and cohesion.

She said: "Very few people are radicalised in Bradford. They would not dream of putting underground bombs on our buses and trains, whether they are Muslims, Christians or any other religion.

"The vast majority of people in Bradford would not dream of behaving in that way.

"The time has come for Muslim families to start to consider bringing a husband or wife from the other side of Bradford, rather than from Pakistan. The community as a whole would benefit. I think we would then have greater integration.

"It does not mean people from Pakistan are extremists but they don't have the same values as we have.

"We need to move towards cohesion and integration within the communities in Bradford.

"Parents in Bradford are marrying their children off with people from Pakistan who have very little education and speak very little English."

Bradford South Labour MP Judith Cummins said: “Ten years on it is still difficult to contemplate the horror and its cause. How could the bombers have thought that what they were doing was in any way justified? Who or what could have led them to believe that it was?

“In remembering the victims, their friends and families, we must dedicate ourselves to making sure we do not allow the poison that drove the bombers to infect other minds. We can best do this by helping build a tolerant, resilient and respectful society, where no-one is excluded.”

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, said Prime Minister David Cameron was wrong when he warned of members of the Muslim community “quietly condoning” violent extremism.

He said: “Bradford is more united than people would give us credit for. If you went into mosques or religious institutions, you would see people are openly condemning this ideology.”

Mr Hussain said singling out one community was “not productive at all” and called for a complete overhaul of Government counter-extremism measures, in particular the anti-terror strategy Prevent.

He said he would rather see “community-led initiatives” at the heart of counter-extremism measures.

He said: “We know that the majority of radicalisation is through the internet and that’s why we need to look at these issues as issues of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children. That’s the context we have to look at this in.”