Senior counterterrorism officer Helen Ball warned that anyone who travels to Syria to train or fight, even for the Free Syrian Army, faces arrest on return. Syria-related terrorism arrests are rising quickly this year; already there have been at least 16, compared to 24 in all of 2013. As many as 700 Britons are thought to be fighting in Syria; police are now asking Muslim women to advise family members against fighting there. William Shawcross, head of the Charities Commission, has warned that Islamic extremism poses a “deadly” and growing threat to UK charities. He asked that charity law be revised to address money laundering and terrorism; convicted terrorists are not currently barred from serving as charity trustees.
