Cameron: Police can seize UK passports under new terrorism legislation
Police will be given the temporary power to seize the passports of those suspected of being involved with terrorism, the Prime Minister said today.
In a statement to parliament afternoon David Cameron said it was "abhorrent" Brits had "declared their allegiance" to the Islamic State. Police will be able to seize passports at borders, while airlines will be forced to hand passenger lists over to the government to allow it to identify potential fighters.
In a speech on Friday, Cameron said his priority was to "keep everyone safe".
Dealing with this threat is not just about new powers. It is about how we combat extremism in all its forms. We need to tackle that ideology of Islamist extremism head on at root before it takes the form of violence and terror. That means challenging the thinking of extremist ideologues, identifying the groups in this country that push an extremist agenda, and countering them by empowering the overwhelming majority who believe in British values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for minorities.
The UK's terror threat level was raised to "severe" on Friday.