Encouraging British fighters to 'come home' will dissuade others from joining ISIS: Ex-MI6 chief

As British Prime Minister David Cameron outlined new powers for police enabling them to seize passports of terrorist suspects last week, a former director of MI6's global counter-terrorism wing has reportedly said that Britain should encourage British jihadis fighting in Iraq and Syria to "come home."

Former counter-terrorism chief, Richard Barrett, who led the UN mission to track down Osama bin Laden, said that the terrorists need to know that there is place for them back at home, reported The Guardian.

Barrett said that providing a refuge to these returning fighters will help in dissuading other potential terrorists from joining the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

He added that these returning fighters could provide crucial insights into the true nature of the ISIS and its leadership. Their stories of brutality and their motives behind it will be much more credible than "the rhetoric of men in suits," he said.

His statement followed reports that suggested that dozens of British jihadis wanted to return to the United Kingdom but were apprehensive about being imprisoned.