David Cameron: ‘Deeply depressing’ UK teens would join ISIS who throw gays off buildings
Young people travelling to join ISIS in Syria – a group that believes in “throwing gay people off buildings” – is a “deeply depressing” situation, the Prime Minister has warned.
David Cameron made the comments after a fresh wave of arrests over Syria-related terror offences.
Three British teenagers arrested in Turkey as they allegedly tried to travel to Syria were released on bail by counter-terrorism police on Monday.
Speaking to BuzzFeed – where he also talked about the importance of legalising same-sex marriage and tackling trans discrimination – the Prime Minister said: “That people in an outstanding school can opt to go and join a death cult in Syria that believes in throwing gay people off buildings and cutting people’s heads off in the desert is deeply depressing and we should be really worried about this as a country.”
The PM said: “I think they are deeply misguided and they are potentially going to join a criminal organisation which could make them part of a criminal or terrorist conspiracy. We want to get them back and try to get this radical nonsense out of their heads.”
Over the past year, ISIS has released video showing its militants murder men who it claims were gay.
Earlier this month, London Mayor Boris Johnson condemned ISIS for the killings during a clash with the research director of Cage.
Mr Johnson accused Asim Qureshi of pointing the finger at MI5 for the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi,
Emwazi was identified as the masked militant known as ‘Jihadi John’, who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages.
The senior Tory told Mr Qureshi, who had phoned into the Mayor’s LBC programme: “I really, really think the focus of your indignation and your outrage should be on people who go out to join groups that throw gays off cliffs, that behead people who don’t subscribe to their version of Islam, that glorify in the execution of innocent journalists and aid workers.
“They should be the object of your wrath not the security services who are trying to keep us safe, Asim.”
Mr Quresh claimed his comments about Emwazi had been “unfairly represented”.
He said: “At the end of the day what this man has done is absolutely horrific. There is no way anyone can justify that. As an organisation we have made a commitment against arbitrary detention, extra judicial killings and torture, regardless of the perpetrator.”
