LONDON, April 13: Britain’s interior secretary told a Sunday newspaper that the security services were investigating 30 active terror plots as she made the case for giving them extended powers to combat extremists.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she would announce on Wednesday a new deal struck with the Pakistani government allowing moderate clerics to come over to Britain to help imams fight extremism.

She said the vast majority of Britain’s Muslims were of Pakistani origin and added that working with the Pakistani government could help both combat radicalisation and spread “the right messages about what it means to be a British Muslim.”

Ms Smith said the threat from Muslim extremists was growing at such a rate that the police would be unable to cope within a year unless they were given new powers to detain suspects for longer.

“We now face a threat level that is severe. It’s actually growing,” she told the News of the World weekly tabloid.

“There are 22,000 individuals who are being monitored. There are 200 networks and 30 active plots.”

“The danger has increased over the past two years,” Ms Smith said. “Since the beginning of 2007, there have been 57 people convicted on terrorist plots.

“Nearly half of those pleaded guilty – so this is not some figment of the imagination. It is a real risk and a real issue we need to respond to.—AFP