The government has put the public at greater risk by watering down the previous control-orders regime, a Labour MP has said after a hunt for a terrorist suspect was launched.
Ibrahim Magag, 28, absconded from a terrorism prevention and investigation measures (Tpims) notice after failing to meet his overnight residence conditions on Boxing Day, police said. He was last seen in Camden, north London, on the same day at 5.20pm.
Pat McFadden told BBC Radio 4's The World at One on Tuesday that the home secretary had been complacent in introducing a new system for controlling terrorist suspects who had not been charged with crimes.
"I think what they have done is complacent and dangerous and I warned the home secretary and the prime minister about this when the legislation was going through," he said. "To take these suspects and give them access to mobile phones and the internet, the government chose to disarm itself from the powers to relocate suspects and I believe this gentleman was previously excluded from coming to London," he alleged.
"What they [the government] have done is put the public at greater risk by watering down our anti-terror laws and putting needless extra pressure on the security services."
On Monday night a Metropolitan police spokesman said a court-imposed anonymity order had been lifted to allow a public appeal to track down Magag.
"The counterterrorism command immediately launched inquiries to trace the man and these continue. Public safety remains our priority. Anyone who sees this man or knows of his whereabouts should not approach him, but call 999 immediately," the spokesman said. Magag was not considered to be a direct threat to the public, he added.
Magag is a black man of Somali origin, 6ft 2in tall and slim to medium build. He has a beard, but detectives said he may try to change his appearance. He was last seen wearing a khaki robe, a black Berghaus windcheater and navy Converse trainers.
In 2010 a study by the Centre for Social Cohesion found that under the control-order system introduced by the Labour government, one in six controlees (16%) had absconded.
The most well-known absconder was Zeeshan Siddiqui, who was believed to have attended a training camp with two of the July 7 bombers and has not been seen since he jumped out the window of a psychiatric unit in 2006.
The security minister James Brokenshire said: "National security is the government's top priority and the police are doing everything in their power to apprehend this man as quickly as possible.
"The home secretary, on police operational advice, applied to the high court for an order protecting anonymity to be lifted in order to assist with their investigation. The terrorism prevention and investigation measure in this case was intended to prevent fundraising and overseas travel. We do not believe his disappearance is linked to any terrorism planning in the UK."
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
