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States caliphate is being destroyed in syria and iraq. Is is losing battle after battle on the ground. But it is too early to say it has lost the war, because as the state fails, they will continue in other forms. Its a proto state in raqqa, and mosul, and over those areas. Its also an insurgency across syria and iraq. And its a terrorist movement to us here in the west. It occupies all of these three states simultaneously. Just because its being pushed back as a state, that does nothing to resolve its other two dimensions. So, what does this mean for the uk Terror Threat . Around 850 jihadists from britain have gone out to syria to fight with is. 15 have died. Half of the remainder, about 360, have already returned here. But many of these are early adopters and may pose a lesser threat. People who went in 2012 were motivated by very Different Things to someone who went in 2015. The drivers of their radicalisation, the pull, the alure, was all very different. When we talk about returnees in the uk, people who have come back, they are pretty much people who went earlier on. Many of those still in syria will want to stay and die fighting. And even if they did try to return, security sources have told newsnight that m15 knows the identities of most of the 850 british fighters who volunteered. So, getting back into the uk undetected would be very difficult. Plus turkey and transit countries are cooperating with intelligence. We know of one case of an individual with is who did return to the uk, who used a land route. So he travelled through various countries by road, by car, and jumped on a ferry in the end, and came across the uk. When he did, the police had been monitoring him and tracking him the whole way across europe so as soon as he set foot on these shores he was arrested. Hes been convicted, he is serving a sentence right now in belmarsh prison. In syria, iss gradual defeat may actually spur supporters in the west to launch more low tech attacks. 0fficial security sources have told newsnight has been a marked shift in is propaganda, and this now is the major threat against the uk, and not from fighters physically returning from returning from syria. Any early years of the self proclaimed caliphate, the message was all about travelling out to syria to help build the islamic state. In the early. Now, the message to supporters in the west is to stay away and attack the kaffir, the disbelievers, at home. The most recent attacks in spain illustrate this well. The leader of the plot, a preacher, was blown up in the groups bomb factory. There is some evidence he spent time in prison with one of the terrorists responsible for the 2004 alqaeda train bombings in madrid. But theres no evidence yet of any link with syria. Translation we have no evidence to prove that any of the attackers have been to the conflict area. Most of the attacks we discovered in catalonia and spain in the last few years have been inspired by propaganda found online. But its usually low key incidents, mainly propaganda and small scale terrorist financing, or sending recruits to the caliphate. So, how do you stop low tech attacks using trucks or knives . Its become much harder as the threat has diversified. In the decade after 9 11, alqaeda plots were relatively sophisticated, planned over many months. There was a chain of command, networks to penetrate, communications to intercept. So is a shift in Counter Terror tactics today required to combat emerging threat across europe . Translation its important to tackle the threat at all stages, from the process of catching new recruits to islamic state, dealing with self starters who are attracted to the propaganda, and Police Techniques to detect and dismantle these extremist groups at an early stage. Security sources here in the uk have told newsnight that when intelligence does not meet the threshold for terrorist prosecutions, then they look for evidence of lesser crimes. Arrests are then made to disrupt networks and plots. A lot of people, myself included, would like to see the authorities being far more disruptive in terms of arrests and prosecutions of people who are engaging with this material, who are engaging with spreading terrorist content, who are looking at that content and disseminating it online. There needs to be a much tougher and proactive legislative approach towards this, an arrest approach towards this. 0ne former Counterterrorism Police officer told us that low level crime often features in terrorist investigations. But he says the uk has preferred to run investigations long, with the aim of securing terrorist convictions. We might find evidence of theft or credit card fraud, or Something Like that. And we would disrupt them for that. So, in terrorism, its simply the same thing. Its an organised criminal network. For many years, ive been saying i dont know why we dont go after them for other criminality. Given that m15 has 500 active investigations and six plots have been stopped since the Westminster Bridge attack injune, disruption by prosecuting for low level offences is likely to become an increasingly vital tool. Studio Richard Watson there. So what of the hundreds of britons who joined isis and are still in syria . And how worried should we be about the changing threat . Im joined by Tasnime Akunjee hes a criminal lawyer who has specialised in terror cases and represented the families of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green who fled to syria. With us from dubai is aimon deen, hes a former extremist who joined alqaeda before leaving the group and becoming an informant for mi5. What we know so far is that one of those schoolgirls is believed to be dead and the other two unknown. Thank you forjoining us, both of you gentlemen. Watching that report, what you think would motivate someone considering iss caliphate shrinking, and the state of its presence in syria now, what would motivate somebody to stay . A few things, number one, their inability to leave, that would cause them to stay. I would imagine, they would be concerned about what would be what life would be like, should they return. The prospect of coming back to a european country from which they may have originated, knowing they may well be detected, probably being aware that they are on the radar, from interactions with the authorities and their families since they left, then it is not an attractive prospect. And also, they have the problem of trying to get across a war zone into turkey, whose shutters have come down some time ago in terms of the porousness of its borders. And the shoot to kill policy on the border with turkey. There are high hurdles for somebody to actually. I mentioned that you represented the three families of the girls from Bethnal Green. We understand, the understanding is, that one of them may be dead, and it is not known, the fate of the other two. If they are alive, could they be motivated to come home . What could motivate them . In terms of the girl who was reportedly killed, there was an active attempt to bring her back, she wanted to leave, but the final straw that stopped her in gauging in that attack was the brutal murder of a 16 year old austrian girl, who had tried to leave the week before, she had been caught and beaten to death, publicly, for that attempt, and that is what stopped the attempt to leave. You worked for alqaeda between 1998 and 2006, part of the currency which helped you come home was that you knew you had associations with 0sama bin laden. How easy was it for you to return . At the time, it was easy, because i was going out of afghanistan for a medical treatment, my intention was basically to leave, because it was in the aftermath of the east africa bombings. I decided that it was not a path i wanted to continue with. During that medical leave, lets put it this way, i was then approached by mi6 at the time, and i was persuaded to continue working for alqaeda, but passing information back to london. That is what happened. It was an environment which allowed me to go, which allowed me to leave. Not as paranoid as is right now. We have been talking about the state of iss control over raqqa, and how the caliphate may be weakened, when you compare is with alqaeda. In terms of what they are able to do with terrorism. Is is is strong with or without a physical state . Well, let us a member that between 2009, up until 2013, is had no territory whatsoever. They were more or less an underground group, armed with a considerable amount of cash, and a network of businesses from baghdad to mosul to ramadi and other places, and they were able to use this network of businesses, including cafes and restaurants, farms, transportation companies, in order to infiltrate the Security Services and the government headquarters in iraq will stop then they were able to use that as an intelligence gathering network, then they took over a quarter of the country in lightning speed, using the fact that a neighbouring country there was a civil war, syria. So, now, if they lose that territory, it does not matter because they have now a considerable amount of cash, as well as a considerable Business Network in neighbouring turkey and in kurdish regions, in northern iraq, as well as the fact they have a network of sympathisers across the world. Which they never had 2009 2013. So, they are perhaps an even greater threat than they were between 2009 2013. Is europe more at risk, now the state is weakening, we have called it the endgame, in raqqa . It is advising followers and supporters to make damage, to make terror where they are. Since they lost the border with turkey, and the Turkish Border became inaccessible in terms of smuggling people who are coming from europe and other parts of the world, it became clear that they are telling would be recruits, you know, potential recruits, to stay where they are, in europe, australia and north america, and to wage jihad wherever they are. The fact of the matter is that they themselves adopted this, almost since 15 months ago, telling people to stay where they are and wage jihad where they are. Because now, isis is moving from being a proto state into a transnational terrorist organisation. What do you think . Do you think you have seen more people, if people are being urged to stay in europe, do you think there is also that motivation, however difficult it is, to return . I think being urged to stay is just a soft power projection statement by isis, suggesting they have some control over the fact when they dont. People cant leave the uk. Oh, no, i mean supporterstaying in europe, not going to syria . Again, it is still a soft power issue. If any attack happens inside of europe, isis will claim it is on the basis that they made that edict, rather than the fact that, physically, they could not, the individual couldnt move. More importantly, the reason why isis is more dangerous is not because it has a network, it is because it is now a franchise. If somebody was to get news headlines, theyjust have to do something that is crazy, pick up a knife or drive a car into somebody, which actually happens quite a lot, our prisons are filled with criminals, but to get front page on that you just say you did it in the name of isis. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time. Curfews are in place and thousands of soldiers are on the streets in cities across five of indias northern states this after violence erupted after the conviction of a well known religious guru. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was found guilty of raping two women at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda sect, which claims to have 60 million followers. At least 23 people have been killed in clashes after the hearing at panchkula in haryana province. The violence later spread to the capital delhi. The convictions have halted the superstar lifestyle of the self styled religious leader, who starred in rock concerts and movies as was known as the culture of bling. His conviction ends years of controversy over his conduct. Earlier, i spoke to an indian journalist who has reported on singh and his sect for more than a decade. I began by asking what the situation is in india tonight. We just received information that the death count, the mayhem that followed the arrest of gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has resulted in the death of more than 50 people, including in punjab. So, the situation is pretty tense. Tell us about gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. To you, he is a well known name. But very little is known about him here. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the chief of a set called Dera Sacha Sauda. He is known to have too much power in india because of his close proximity with the ruling and opposition parties. The city from where he operates, he is virtually the king of the city. The city is divided into two halves, one is run by gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and he has a following of millions. There are accusations against him ranging from sexual exploitation, murder, castration and other illegal activities. He was evading the law since 2002, because of his connections with higher ups in state machinery and political parties. Take us back to the beginning of this mans life. How has he managed to amass such a huge following, millions of people adoring him . People in the upper caste of india, they were looking for something where they can get a certain kind of equality in the social system. The other thing was, gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was known to have good connections in the ruling parties. This accumulation of power, and realisation that, 0k, there is somebody giving us a space in society. Because of his close connection with bureaucracy and politicians, he was able to get work done, people had faith in him that he was somebody that was a god. That was the time when he started exploiting his disciples. You will be surprised to know, in the process of the investigation, we chanced upon a witness who has given a statement, that how everyday he wanted a new woman in his chamber, and rules for this to be provided for him. In 2002, one of his disciples, then Prime Minister of india, an anonymous letter stated how she was sexually exploited by gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Now that these accusations have come, now that his reputation is in tatters, what will happen to his followers . I am sure that this outburst, this will not last long. The death of more than 28, 30 people, it has really exposed him. I know that these supporters were completely dependent on him. The man was getting their dirty work done, the man was like a god for them. I think in a matter of a few days, things will be under control. The supporters that were supporting them, whateverjob they were doing, whatever things they were doing, they have to go back to their normal life. Platoons of driverless lorries, thundering down our motorways. That vision came closer today after the government gave the green light to test runs of self driving trucks on britains clogged roads. For now only some of the functions will be performed by the machines there will still be drivers in each vehicle. But the announcement raises questions about the future of travel and of professional drivers. Is the traditional trucker, or the cheerful cabbie, an endangered species . When the world and newsnight was a little more carefree than it is now, Stephen Smith was our motorway man. Hes been back on the road today. The poorer old lorry drivers come in for some affectionate ribbing over the years. I like trucking but whats this . The hairy arsed trucker replaced by a smoothie with a tablet . Look, no hands. A computer has taken over the tedious chore of actually driving. In this test run, the speed of the second wagon is set by the league 1. The pair of them are linked by wi fi, something called platooning. 10 less fuel, that is money of our shopping bills. 10 less c02, we will be helping the planet. If we get platooning, vehicles moving smoother together, we wont get the trafficjams. But handing over the wheel to a robot would surely be too much to bear for the lorry drivers of Great Britain . We pulled into the London Gateway Services on the m1, to dunk a dipstick in the emotions of the freighter fraternity. Well, i think its going to be dangerous. I dont think itll work. Why not . Well, it might kill somebody. I think it is a death trap, to be honest with you. Definitely. Without somebody behind the wheel, to grab it. I dont know, maybe it is a good idea, for the traffic. I dont know. The trucker is the master of his vehicle, a connection we weaken at our peril, say some. The real difficulty comes with computers trying to respond to unexpected circumstances, a cat running into the middle of the road, or having to take an immediate left turn because something has happened, there is and obstruction. It is the 1 of stuff, the tail end risk. Computers have not managed to figure all of that out. Even if you have a leading truck that is still effectively being looked after by a human, there is still the concern, with automated technology, that the driver himself might be a little bit complacent. 98 of everything we have, eat and consume, comes on the back avail or you. Bretts supply chain is vital to the economy. Also vital to that economy are the drivers who drive the trucks. The job doesntjust begin and end with driving, they also have all of these other duties to do with unloading, form filling and so on. But its not only lorry drivers that could be on the road to nowhere if the machines take over. Mind if i hop in and talk about driverless cabs . They dont have the knowledge that you have with a human, you know . Some people dont like to talk, some people do, they like to know the history of london and the uk. They like to know what Football Team is winning or losing. They want to know where they can get a pint of milk from. Lorry drivers of britain, we salute you. After all those years of not nodding off at the wheel, computers mean you can at last get a0 winks. So, to the battle of the sexes its a subject many enjoy discussing me included. Who is winning now . Impossible to say. Who will win . Well, researchers at the university of British Columbia in canada say that men may be physically bigger and more powerful, but women have more staying power. Specifically, their study found that the female of the species is less physically exhausted after repetitive gruelling tasks and so naturally better at endurance events, to such an extent that they could soon regularly beat men in marathons. Heres one example of extreme female endurance achievements. Quoted in much of the reporting of this study today is that of cyclist lael wilcox, who stunned her male competition last year to become the first woman to win the 4,300 mile trans am race across america. She joins us now via skype from alaska. Also with us is renee mcgregor, a sports nutritionist and performance coach who has worked with leading athletes. She has also run ultra marathons and joins us from bristol. Lael, renee, welcome to you both. This study, it says because of womens abilities to do frequent, repetitive movements for longer, it shows we have more endurance. Does this surprise you . No, not at all. The style of racing that i do is ultra distance. It takes about a couple of weeks to complete the race. It is really all about recovery. In terms of recovery, is thatjust being sensible, psychological, just the fact that physically women are able to recover better . For me, it is really physical. Day after day, i feel pretty good. Usually during these races i sleep for four five hours, and i wake up the next day post i am in some pain, but able to continue. I think it is pretty physical. In your races, have you beaten men . I have so last summer i beat the entire field. Ifinished in 18 days. I caught the first placed man in the final night. 0k. Renee, do you think the fastest woman in the world, talking ultra marathons, could be a woman . Absolutely, without a doubt. I think this study is great in terms of bringing to light some of the things we have already known for a while, that women are better suited to ultra distance events. A lot of that seems to be related to hormonal and biochemical processes in our body. I think it is great that we are getting more investigations into this particular area. How do you explain, renee, this statistic, which amazed us in the office. Paula radcliffes a world marathon time is two hours 15. 25, set in the london marathon. It is 30 minutes faster than the womens record in the mid 70s. If you look at the similar data over mens times, the improvement is only five minutes. One of the things we need more research into, one of the things that is clear is that female physiology is to these events. The studies that have been done, its shown that women fare better in events that are 26. 2 miles and above. I think a lot of that is related to the fact that we tend to burn fat a lot better than men. So, we naturally have a higher reserve. We have a bigger tank of fat stores, because women generally do have. On top of that, we have a better ability to use that for fuel. Particularly in these ultra events, we know that at some point you are going to run out of your carbohydrate stores. Even fold Glycogen Stores only last 60 to 90 minutes. You will need topping up. But even that will not be enough. Having the better efficiency of using fat for fuel is one of the critical things that makes us so good at running these longer events. Lael, the Scientific Evidence seems to point that women could have the upper hand when it comes to these ultra marathons, these longer events. Do you think there are any other sports where the barriers could be broken down, or the Competitive Edge could be broken down . I think there is definitely room for improvement in all sports for women. There is definitely a lot less encouragement. We are seeing a change, but there is still a lot of room for that to build. Speaking about results changing so dramatically from the 70s, there were very few women competing in the marathon in the 70s. Many more now, but i still feel like its many fewer than men competing. So, that will change and we will see improved results. Renee similar question, when we look at sports like football, where short bursts of energy are needed, or tennis, do women compare with men . Absolutely. I think a lot of the athletes i work with, there is no difference between men and women in how they train. They train the same, they put the same effort in, they get the same Sports Science support. I think football is an interesting one, because it is now emerging and the womens squads are getting a lot more support now. Prior to the last few years, this wasnt something that was actually very clear. I think with the right wraparound and the right direction, yes, we can definitely see a huge improvement in women making theirground. Renee, lael, thank you very much for your time this evening. Thats almost it for tonight, but before we go, you might foreign secretary borisjohnson was in libya this week, where he was welcomed by a Libyan Military band giving a tuneful rendition of the national anthem. At least, we think its the national anthem. See for yourself. Band plays out of tune

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