§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of collaboration and sharing of expertise between terrorist organisations internationally. [148948]
§ Mr. MacShaneThere are varying levels of contact between al-Qaeda and other international terrorist groups either related to al-Qaeda or sharing similar agendas, including sharing ideological ideas and expertise, and co-operating on funding, planning and facilitation. The loss of safe havens such as Afghanistan, and the successful pursuit and arrest of senior terrorists, have made this process more difficult. But terrorist individuals and groups continue to find ways to collaborate and communicate, including through use of the Internet.