Daesh Using Locally-Born Europeans to Carry Out Attacks - Terror Expert

"It is interesting to see how much of these ghetto areas are controlled by Islamic State [Daesh] from Raqqa — I think some of it is quite well-controlled," Professor Paul Moorcraft, an expert in terrorism told Sputnik.

The Syrian city of Raqqa became the headquarters for Daesh, also known as Islamic State in 2014.

"Attacks in Britain have been by people born here. But because of the breakdown of the borders in Europe, you're getting thousands more jihadists coming in."

"[Daesh in] Raqqa said it was going to do this. I believe they have and they're working with locally born people living in areas that have become ghettos. That's why we had Paris, that's why we had Brussels."

Professor Moorcraft also says that an attack in London is "highly likely" and argues that Britain needs to "resolve the basic issue of reforming ghettos" if the authorities are going to have any success in preventing terrorism.

The British government introduced its Prevent program after the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005. Its aim was to stop people from being radicalized and becoming terrorists. The program led to police heavy-handedness and spying on members of the public in predominantly Muslim communities.

"The Prevent strategy, run by the Home Office to counter terrorism is not working. It's alienating more jihadists and alienating Muslims who would never be jihadists," Professor Paul Moorcraft, author of 'The Jihadist Threat: The Reconquest of the West' told Sputnik.

The strategy was revised in 2011, making it a legal requirement for public bodies to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

In January 2015, the former head of Britain's MI5 security services told the House of Lords that Prevent is "clearly not working." Baroness Manningham Buller said that the decision made by more than 600 Britons to travel to Syria and Iraq to join Daesh was evidence enough that the Prevent scheme had failed.

The UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation says the Prevent counterterrorism scheme is "not transparent." In March 2016, David Anderson QC suggested it should be independently reviewed.

And with a terrorist attack "highly likely" in London, Prevent does not appear to be fit for purpose.