'Destroy and eliminate' British Isis fighters, says UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson

UK's Defence Secretary wants severe measures in place to prevent British citizens, who travelled to Syria and Iraq in order to join Isis, from re-entering the country. Gavin Williamson suggested that the government should be prepared to use air strikes to take down the jihadists rather than allow them to come back home.

"I do not believe that any terrorist, whether they come from this country or any other, should ever be allowed back into this country," he told Daily Mail on 5 December (Tuesday). "We should do everything we can do to destroy and eliminate that threat."

In his view, "a dead terrorist can't cause any harm to Britain". The 41-year-old's harsh remarks were part of an ongoing debate regarding the future of around 270 British Isis fighters still in the Middle East.

Max Hill QC, Britain's terror law watchdog triggered the argument in October after he suggested that some of these UK passport holders, who "naively" went to join Islamic State, should be allowed to return home and re-join society. "We should be looking towards reintegration and moving away from any notion that we are going to lose a generation due to this travel," he said.

While Hill believes these young people "swept up by hateful ISIS propaganda" deserve a second chance, Williamson condemned them as people who "hate everything that Britain stands for, hate our values, hate that Britain is as a beacon to the world of democracy and tolerance".

Earlier this year it was reported that Royal Air Force pilots were secretly targeting British terrorists in Iraq and Syria using fighter jets and drones. The alleged killings were criticised by many but Williamson expressed support for the RAF.

"Our forces are right across the globe degrading and destroying that threat, making sure that these people who want to bring destruction, death, bloodshed onto our streets aren't able to come back," he said.

"That is as important part of the jigsaw as what we actually do on the streets in Britain."

Williamson's standpoint is one he has been vocal about for the past few months. "They are going to inflict more and more harm on our country, so does that mean eliminating that threat completely? Yes it does," he told The Sun in November.