'There is a heightened risk': Terror attacks on British soil are more likely as ISIS jihadis return from Syria, warns former MI6 boss

  • Sir Richard Dearlove was head of MI6 from 1999 to 2004 under Tony Blair 
  • Did his first public interview on Newsnight to discuss open letter to Macron
  • On terror he said that ISIS jihadis returning from Syria present 'heightened risk' 
  • But Dearlove insisted terror 'does not present a systemic threat to the nation'
  • He said there may be some truth in Russian allegations against Donald Trump

Terror attacks on British soil are more likely as ISIS jihadis return from Syria, the former head of MI6 warned last night.

In an interview on BBC2's Newsnight, Sir Richard Dearlove said: 'At the moment there is of course going to be a heightened risk as we've got more returnees coming back from Syria and probably Afghanistan as well.'

But the 72-year-old insisted that 'terror is containable and manageable' and 'does not present a systemic threat to the nation.' 

He added: 'The chances of getting caught up in a terror attack are relatively low, although when they happen they are catastrophic. Terror attacks are horrible happenings which we are learning to deal with.'

The former head of MI6 tonight warned terror attacks on British soil are more likely as ISIS jihadis return from Syria

The former head of MI6 tonight warned terror attacks on British soil are more likely as ISIS jihadis return from Syria

Police officers on Borough High Street in London after the attack there in June

Police officers on Borough High Street in London after the attack there in June

It comes after five terrorist attacks in the UK this year including in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge.

Last week, new defence secretary Gavin Williamson said Britons who have fought for Islamic State abroad should be hunted down and killed.

He told the Daily Mail: 'A dead terrorist can’t cause any harm to Britain.'

Dearlove, who was head of MI6 from 1999 until 2004, made his comments in his first public interview last night.

He also discussed an open letter he sent to French President Emmanuel Macron to persuade him that Brexit presents him with an opportunity. 

Asked why he supports Brexit, Dearlove explained: 'I'm looking more generally at future of EU - we have always believed in shallow political union. If Macron is determined to integrate the union, he doesn't want us to be part of it. 

'We are offering continental Europe an opportunity, we can be very supportive of a united continental Europe which will serve our interests closely. There's no disaster about the UK returning to our mid-Atlantic position which is the one we have traditionally occupied.'

Presenter Evan Davies asked if the mid-Atlantic position was a wise one to take given that the unpredictable Donald Trump holds the keys to the White House.

Dearlove replied that the US President will 'probably last only another three years' so it's not worth changing or basing policy around him.

He insisted that the 'US is still a very reliable ally to in terms of intelligence' despite US leaks over the Manchester bombings which saw pictures of Salmen Abedi's nail bomb which killed 22 in June appear in the New York Times.

Evans also asked Dearlove if he believed a dossier of alleged Russian intelligence on Trump which includes accusations that the President asked prostitutes to urinate on a bed in a Moscow hotel room in which former President Barack Obama once stayed with first lady Michelle Obama.

Presenter Evan Davies asked if the mid-Atlantic position was a wise one to take given that the unpredictable Donald Trump holds the keys to the White House

Presenter Evan Davies asked if the mid-Atlantic position was a wise one to take given that the unpredictable Donald Trump holds the keys to the White House

The dossier was prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele.  

Dearlove joked: 'I won't confirm or deny that I knew Christopher,' before saying: 'I think that there is probably some credibility in the dossier but I wouldn't put it any more forcefully than that.'

One the subject of Russia, Dearlove said: 'The EU does not have the military capability or power to balance Russia and I think that one of the ancillaries of Brexit should be an increase in our defence spending.'

He then dismissed allegations that the Russians influenced the Brexit referendum to destabilise Europe before adding: 'I don't think there's any question that they got involved in the US election and I think probably on Putin's part that was a misjudgement.' 

Dearlove ended the interview on a positive note, saying that there is great hope for Britain after Brexit.

Asked if the turbulence caused by Brexit will last for decades, he said: 'I would pick closer to five years. I think we can emerge in a pretty strong position if we do not lose self-belief and self-confidence'.