MI5 dropped British suicide bomber Jamal al Harith from watch list

A British IS suicide bomber, who had been held at Guantanamo Bay for three years, was no longer under surveillance by MI5 when he fled the UK in 2014, Sky News has been told.

Jamal al Harith, previously known as Ronald Fiddler, had been dropped from a list of live investigations, according to a source.

Earlier, a Home Office minister refused to divulge details surrounding the monitoring of al Harith, who was released from detention in Guantanamo Bay in 2004, after a concerted campaign by his family and human rights groups.

The minister, Ben Wallace MP, also refused to confirm whether the former detainee had received a £1m compensation payout by the British government.

Mr Wallace was responding to an urgent question by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who said there were numerous worrying elements to the case that the Government must clarify.

The MP, who is chair of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said ministers should reveal al Harith was monitored between 2010, when he is said to have received the payment, and 2014 when he is believed to have left Britain to fight for IS.

:: Ronald Fiddler: British-born model turned jihadist

Mr Wallace told MPs: "The monitoring of individuals is an intelligence matter and the Government do not and cannot comment on individual cases."

Ms Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "It would be helpful if ministers could confirm what happened. Everyone understands that MI5 have a difficult job to do deciding which individuals are the highest risk at any one time.

"Nevertheless there should be a review of this case to see if any signs were missed, and to see whether or not Al Harith was on the border watch list on 2014 even if he wasn't being monitored at the time.

"There should also be a review of whether Al Harith's finances were investigated either before or after he left the country in 2014 to see if any of the payment he received was used to fund terrorism or whether any of it could be recovered."

Sky News has been told that the former detainee was no longer seen as a potential danger and that after a few years of living quietly and running a web design business, he was no longer considered a threat.

Other former Guantanamo prisoners who have remained involved with radical Islam have been kept under surveillance, it is understood.

Another source said the security services have to "constantly assess" the risk posed by an individual in order to justify surveillance warrants and resources.

If the risk is not considered "proportionate" to the intrusion - either by a desk officer, team leader or senior management - the surveillance stops.

Suspects are only put on a watch list to be stopped at the UK border if there is an ongoing investigation.

If they are not considered a risk to national security, they drop off the list.

Jamal al Harith, originally from Manchester, is believed to have been killed as he carried out a suicide bombing near the Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday.