Six people on Britain’s ‘no fly’ list picked up in security checks

Six people deemed a ‘direct threat’ to the UK have been flagged up in security checks of would-be evacuees from Kabul.

The individuals were on Britain’s ‘no fly’ list, with one of those making it to Birmingham Airport. The Home Office has since said that the person who had reached the UK was ‘not a person of interest’ to the security services or police upon ‘further investigation’. The individual, who had not been identified, had been allowed to enter the UK.

Nonetheless, the news raises concerns after warnings were made that the ISIS terror group is targeting British soldiers and officials at the airport.

James Heappey, the armed forces minister, told MPs on the same call that ‘the threat in Kabul is severe’ and came from the local affiliate of the Isis terror group, known as ISIS-KP, who are targeting the more than 6,000 US, UK and other western soldiers protecting the airport.

Border Force officials said that another four people had been picked up as part of the screening process at Kabul airport being run by a mixture of Foreign Office and Home Office staff, while a fifth got as far as Frankfurt.

Home Office sources are keen to stress that security checks being undertaken are effective.