Some of Britain’s closest allies in the fight against terrorism have accused the Government of allowing banned terrorist organisations to operate openly in this country.

An investigation by The Times has revealed that at least six countries have complained about the failure of the Government to enforce the Terrorism Act 2000, which proscribes 46 foreign terrorist organisations. The countries include Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Iran has also voiced criticism. America is known to have serious reservations about the Government’s commitment to enforcing the law.

The Act was supposed to prevent London becoming a major terrorist hub, where groups were able to raise funds, distribute propaganda and plan terrorist operations. The law has been difficult to apply. Many groups simply changed their names, others concealed their operations, while some have been ignored by the authorities.

A Turkish official said that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a separatist movement behind attacks in Turkey, ran a multimillion-pound operation in North London, controlling businesses, running a political office and even printing a newspaper.

“The British Government tolerates the PKK,” said a Turkish official. “If anything, the group has increased its profile.” He said that where once it extorted money from local businesses and ran human trafficking rings, now it owned supermarkets, jewellers and restaurants. Pakistan has repeatedly helped the British authorities to track and apprehend terror suspects, yet it feels that its own problems have been ignored. A Pakistani official said that Britain was “slow to respond” to the activities of the Baluchistan Liberation Army, which is on the Home Office proscribed list. The Pakistanis are also frustrated that Hizb ut-Tahrir, an extremist Muslim group banned in Pakistan, has still not been proscribed in Britain despite previous promises.

Similar complaints have been made by the Sri Lankan High Commission over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, another banned group which raises money and distributes propaganda in Britain among the Tamil community.

The Israeli Embassy in London has also had reason to complain over the activities of Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shia Muslim group, and the Palestinian group Hamas. “Hamas has been using the UK for the past few years as a major centre for publishing and distributing incitement-based material, whilst taking advantage of legal loopholes and lenient enforcement policy,” said an Israeli official. He added that a senior Hezbollah figure involved in the group’s broadcasting service, was recently granted a visa.

Saudi Arabia is unhappy that Saudi exiles in Britain, some with connections to al-Qaeda, are able to operate openly. “To be allowed to use Britain as a base to attack other governments and societies, to us this is puzzling,” Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Saudi Ambassador, told The Times.

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