AL QAEDA INFILTRATION IN MI5?

REUTERS:

The head of a British parliamentary counter-terrorism committee called Saturday for the government to clarity whether al Qaeda operatives had tried to infiltrate the MI5 domestic security agency.

Patrick Mercer, a Conservative and chairman of parliament's sub-committee on counter-terrorism, said he had been told up to six Muslim recruits had been ejected from the spy agency because of concerns about their backgrounds.

Two of the men who had attempted to join MI5 after the July 7, 2005, London suicide bombings had attended training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps in their curricula vitae, Mercer told the Daily Telegraph.

"I would be very, very surprised had our enemies had not tried this but I would like some clarification from the government to see how successful we've been at detecting them," he told Sky News.

ABC/AU:

A senior British MP says Al Qaeda sympathisers may have infiltrated one of Britain's spy agencies, MI5.

Senior opposition politician Patrick Mercer says he has been told that six Muslim recruits were rejected from the security service because of concerns about their pasts.

It is believed that two of the men may have attended Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan.

Mr Mercer has called for an investigation.

"What concerns me though, is that not all of these individuals have necessarily been nailed and that's why I've written to the Home Secretary to seek reassurance," he said.

"It stands to reason that if our enemies have tried this, and I have no doubt continued to try it, that there may have been some more successful than others."

Government officials have dismissed Mr Mercer's allegations.

THE SAME IS PROBABLY TRUE HERE IN OUR FBI AND CIA.