Fears Ireland was UK gateway for London Bridge attacker
The fear that jihadists could use Ireland as a back door to the UK has become a reality, based on one attacker's movements.
Wednesday 7 June 2017 08:09, UK
A senior Islamic cleric has told Sky News he suspects one of the London Bridge attackers entered the UK by crossing the Irish land border.
Rachid Redouane's arrival via Dublin has fuelled concerns that jihadists could use Ireland as a gateway for further acts of terrorism.
The 30-year-old Moroccan had been refused asylum in the UK so moved to the Irish Republic, married a British woman there and applied for an EU card.
Dr Umar Al Qadri, Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, said: "Anyone from Britain can very easily travel to Ireland under the radar by travelling to Belfast and at Belfast airports as well as the port, there is no passport controls.
"These individuals can then just take the bus and go to Dublin so it's very easy for them to come to Dublin, come to Ireland and then stay under the radar."
::
Irish police were called in when it emerged one of the London Bridge attackers had lived at Rathmines in South Dublin for a time.
They arrested one man in Limerick on Monday night and a second in Wexford 24 hours later.
Officers in the Irish Republic do monitor a small number of people but 30-year-old Redouane was not on their watch list.
Tom Clonan, a retired Army Captain, says the lack of capability poses a serious threat in the current security climate.
He said: "Islamic State are attracted by weakness and gaps in security and Ireland is Europe's weakest link in terms of our defence, intelligence and policing infrastructure unfortunately so it's very porous between here and the United Kingdom."
Two years ago, Sky News revealed that a disproportionately high number of Ireland's Muslim population had travelled to fight in places like Syria - one in 1,500 compared to one in 5,000 in the UK.
There has long been the potential for at least some to be radicalised before returning home to Irish soil.
Ireland now has little option but to review how intelligence is gathered and shared.
The fear that jihadists could use it as a back door to the UK has become a reality.