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New anti-terror laws come into effect on Monday, which could be used to target groups using Britain as a base for terrorist acts.
Foreign countries struggling with terrorism, particularly in the Middle East, complain much of the activity and fund-raising is conducted in Britain. Civil liberties legislation has always made it hard to crack down on foreign groups.
Radical Islamic groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah could be outlawed under the new Terrorism Act, which replaces the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1973.
They would be given the same status as Irish terror groups such as the IRA and the Ulster Volunteer Force, if ministers decided they should be added to the proscribed list. Then, it would become illegal in Britain to be a member of the group, support it financially, display its emblems or share a platform with a member at a meeting of three or more people.
Groups which could be banned, and
which attract support from ethnic communities in the UK include the Tamil
Tigers of Sri Lanka, the Kurdistan People's Party (PKK) of Turkey and the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
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