A senior Tory MP has asked the home secretary whether al-Qaeda sympathisers were mistakenly recruited by MI5.Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Home Affairs counter-terror sub-committee, said sources told him six had sought to infiltrate the security service. Four were ejected at the initial vetting stage but two got "further down the system", he told the BBC. The Home Office declined to comment but Whitehall officials firmly rejected the claims, saying there was no evidence. Mr Mercer said: "What concerns me is that not all of these individuals... have necessarily been nailed and that is why I've written to the home secretary to seek his reassurance."
A senior Tory MP has asked the home secretary whether al-Qaeda sympathisers were mistakenly recruited by MI5.
Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Home Affairs counter-terror sub-committee, said sources told him six had sought to infiltrate the security service.
Four were ejected at the initial vetting stage but two got "further down the system", he told the BBC.
The Home Office declined to comment but Whitehall officials firmly rejected the claims, saying there was no evidence.
Mr Mercer said: "What concerns me is that not all of these individuals... have necessarily been nailed and that is why I've written to the home secretary to seek his reassurance."
