'The enemy is everywhere': Former MI5 head calls for people to spy on their neighbours following murder of soldier Lee Rigby

  • Dame Stella Rimington said members of the public have to be the Government's 'eyes and ears'
  • 78-year-old, who spoke at the Hay Festival, was MI5's first female director

By Emily Davies

PUBLISHED: 20:02 EST, 27 May 2013 | UPDATED: 02:47 EST, 28 May 2013

Former head of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington has called for British people to inform security services if they suspect their neighbours maybe extremists

Former head of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington has called for British people to inform security services if they suspect their neighbours maybe extremists

The former head of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington has called for British people to inform security services if they suspect their neighbours maybe extremists.

Dame Stella, who supports the Government’s controversial ‘snoopers’ charter’, said people need to be more alert because it is impossible for security services to spot every threat.

She called for a wartime vigilance and for people to be the Government’s ‘eyes and ears’ following the killing of Lee Rigby.

The 78-year-old, who was MI5’s first female Director General, said: ‘The community has the responsibility to act as the eyes and ears, as they did during the war … where there were all these posters up saying the walls have ears and the enemy is everywhere.

‘There have often been indications in the community, whether it’s Muslim or anywhere else, that people are becoming extremists and spouting hate phrases.’

Dame Stella said security services had to prioritise the most dangerous threats because ‘thousands’ of people were being radicalised in Britain.

She said further terror attacks on the UK were inevitable unless the country became a ‘police state’.

 

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Her comments, made at the Hay Festival, were prompted following the killing of 25-year-old soldier Lee Rigby by alleged Islamist fanatics Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, in Woolwich last Wednesday. 

Michael Adebolajo

Radicalised: Michael Adebolajo brandishing bloodied knives after the murder of Lee Rigby last week

In 2010 Michael Adebolajo, second from right, was among nine suspected members of the Al-Shabaab movement captured by Kenyan police

Arrested: In 2010 Michael Adebolajo, second from right, was among nine suspected members of the Al-Shabaab movement captured by Kenyan police

Dame Stella said the Woolwich killing was classified as a ‘terrorist attack’ because of the ideology behind the attack.

It has now emerged that Adebolajo made a second attempt to travel to Somalia to join extremist groups after failing in 2010.

The killing has raised questions about MI5 after it also emerged the two suspects were known to them.

Adebolajo was detained in Kenya in 2010 after trying to join a terrorist group.

An investigation by parliamentary intelligence is being carried out to determine whether there were intelligence failings.

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If there was no daytime TV, people would be more inclined to associate with their neighbours. Bring back the 'Test Card' with classical music. Ban daytime TV.

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Isn't this what people were asked to do in the old communist states?

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The problem with disputing what Stella Rimington says, is that of all the people you can think of who probably actually knows what is going on in Britain, she is one of them. To dispute what she says you would either have to be a senior MI5 officer or have access to the Joint Intelligence Committee. At any rate I would believe her above 99.999% of DM readers simply because she has been the head of MI5 and you havent

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It's nice to hear a voice of reason (and hopefully of effective action). Bit of trivia: There was an American tv series in the early '80s called, "Remington Steele," about a boy-girl detective duo. The series' name was in honor (I'm American) Dame Stella Rimington - Head of MI5. 'Remington Steele was played by Pierce Brosnan who, of course, played James Bond in several of the franchise installments. James Bond's boss was the head of MI5. Brosnan's co-star in "Remmington Steele" was Stephanie Zimbalist. Her father, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., was the star of the hit tv show, "The F.B.I." in the mid-'60s. Maybe Stella, Efrem, Pierce and Stephanie could do a better job than Cameron. They wouldn't be in Ibiza, that's for sure.

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So not only did they offer one of those lunatics a job, but now they want us to do their jos for them?! Tell us, what exactly are you keeping us safe from?! Because it doesnt seem to be working!!!!!!

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For those who want to ignore their neighbors... don't complain and cry when your neighbor turns out to be a sex ring rapist or bombing suspect. Clearly from all the stories we're seeing out of the UK in the past several months, the UK IS at war with radical Islam--right in your own back yards and right next door to you. Yet you fear being seen as 'snooping" and violating people's privacy. Just don't forget that jihadists are COUNTING on you not wanting to snoop. They are counting on beating you over the heads with your own 'civil rights' as a way for them to hide in plain sight. Your own laws have become your undoing, as are ours in the US.

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Determine who your native born patriots are ...I know, hard with those EU open borders over the past umpteen years...but that's the only way you can train and arm the loyal citizenry and declare open season on Al Queda. The plan is to pick you (and the USA) off until they outnumber and enslave the left overs. WAKE UP. This is already WWIII and the barbarians are in the house. Report and arrest. You'll be safer with your own protection.

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The upside is that if GB is packed with, say, 30 - 40 million terrorists. Really, really mean nasty ones. They are an incredibly ineffectual lot. Any organized effort of that size should have inflicted millions of casualties and leveled half the country. I wonder, could someone be fibbing? Dave, Ohio USA

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This crime was evil, but it is just a symptom of a bigger disease. Our country seems determined on just curing the symptom not the problem. Bringing George Orwells 1984 big brother state into a reality won't stop terrorism and won't stop attacks like this, it will just create more fear, waste of police time and give government more control over us! When will our government get to the route of the problem? well never, as if they did they would have to put their hands up to bigger crimes! I sadly see this as cause and effect and only see it getting worse as attacks will continue to happen and not be prevented, all that will happen is we the people will lose our rights and Britain will become more of a police state than it already is.

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If the lady says this sort of thing and we are in a state of War as our politicians tell us. Why can't the both foreign and homegrown extremists be interned for the publics safety ( as would happen in a War) and those entering our country without paperwork treated as potential enemy agents as we don't know who they really are and their intentions. No recourse to the normal HR Laws, but treated under Geneva Convention Laws under strict military supervision whilst detained. Not as the Border Agency did with those that sneaked out of a lorry carrying Flour last week and sent them on their way to hostels and where to claim benefits,etc. Time the gloves came off and they are seen to come off before this country explodes and it descends into some sort of Anarchy. Bring home the boys and girls and let them take over border security, they are all trained in search techniques,etc so why waste the skills by making them redundant.

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