The man who originally filled this role, Mohammed Emwazi, was likely killed by a USA drone strike in November.
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If London-born convert Abu Rumaysah is confirmed as the front man in the latest Islamic State video, then he will be just the latest in a long line of militants to emerge from a banned group the authorities say breeds easy prey for jihadist recruiters.
The father-of-four, from Walthamstow in east London, had been arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism, but later travelled to Syria after being bailed.
A few weeks later, he gloated on social media about his easy escape, posting a picture of himself holding his new-born baby in one arm and an assault rifle in the other, writing: “My Lord made a mockery of British intelligence and surveillance. I’m not convinced it is him”, said his sister Konika Dhar.
Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham wrote to Home Secretary Theresa May accusing her of “repeatedly” failing to answer his questions in the Commons and calling on her to outline what measures had been taken to prevent a repeat of the lapse.
He said he will raise the issues with the Prime Minister when he appears before the liaison committee next week.
London Mayor Boris Johnson suggested that shortcomings in Britain’s educational system played a part in allowing young people to be radicalised, and said he was “uneasy” about the expansion of faith schools.
Meanwhile, one of Dhar’s former business associates told the BBC he had “no doubt” that the voice on the video was Dhar’s. I will be discussing that with the police later today.
A spokeswoman for Lewisham Council, the local authority where the family grew up in southeast London, said: “We are unable to confirm the identity of the boy in the video”.
Siddhartha Dhar fled the country 15 months ago after an apparent double failure, when police failed to secure his passport and exit checks failed to identify him as being under investigation for a terrorism-related offence.
In the video, released through ISIS channels on January 3, a group of ISIS militants led by a masked man with a British accent execute five supposed British spies.
He later converted to Islam and joined the radical group Al Muhajiroun, at which point he began using the name Abu Rumaysah. Following his conversion, he spoke in a TV interview about the United Kingdom being brought under Sharia law by a conquering IS army.
“If he has (appeared in this video), I’m going to go there and kill him myself”, she added. “With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to thingk that a police officer should have accompanied this person to his home and ensured that the passport was handed over”.
His mother Sobita told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “I don’t know, I’m not sure of the voice”.
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“It serves as a reminder of the barbarity of Daesh and what the world faces with these terrorists”. It is desperate stuff from an organisation that hates us not for what we do but what we are – a democratic, multi-faith, multi-ethnic nation built on tolerance, democracy and respect for human rights.
