Britain 'a soft touch' for terror threats

Published on Friday 15 February 2008 09:43

BRITAIN is becoming a "soft touch" in the face of mounting security threats at home and abroad, an influential defence think tank warned today.

It said that a loss of confidence in the nation's identity and institutions was increasingly making the United Kingdom a "target" for attack.

The claims, in a report by the Royal United Services Institute, was rejected by the Government which said they "do not stand up to scrutiny".

But the Conservatives agreed the country's vulnerability to terrorist attacks had increased.

"The country's lack of self-confidence is in stark contrast to the implacability of its Islamist terrorist enemy," said the report, adding: "We look like a soft touch. We are indeed a soft touch, from within and without."

The failure to "lay down the line" to immigrant communities had undermined the fight against extremism, it said, and it urged ministers to restore defence and security as the first duty of government.

Specifically, the report called for the creation of a powerful new Cabinet committee to co-ordinate security policy.