FBI Boss: Brits Have Created a 'Dark Hole' in Terror Intel

April 14, 2008— -- FBI chief Robert Mueller said he is frustrated by his British counterparts and the laws in the U.K., which have created a "dark hole of terror intelligence," according to an exclusive interview he gave to the "Daily Mail."

Mueller, who visited London last week, said a law banning plea bargains prevents interrogators from obtaining key information from suspects.

"If you talk to our British counterparts, it's clear that people questioned about the training camps and the individuals who run the training camps have not been cooperating," Mueller told the Mail. "All of us would like a clearer view of what's happening in Pakistan so that's a frustration."

Mueller cited how in the U.S. plea bargaining with suspects has yielded valuable actionable intelligence. He used the example of a Pakistani-American who gave the FBI information that led to the arrests of seven men in the U.K. who were hoarding explosives and planning attacks on shopping centers and nightclubs. The suspect who gave the intelligence, Mohammad Babar, later testified at the trial in the U.K. All seven men were convicted. Babar pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and faced 70 years in prison, but he now faces less prison time due to his cooperation.

"He is a product of the plea-bargaining system," Mueller told the Mail. "I'm not certain my British counterparts have had anyone who has given the same amount of information, despite the number of arrests they have made over the past five years because of the system here."

He added that Dhiren Barot, the U.K. citizen that was sentenced to 30 years in 2006 for plotting attacks on U.S. soil and had taken detailed surveillance video in New York City, probably has a "wealth of knowledge" but has so far not cooperated with British intelligence.

Mueller's interview coincided with an interview in "News of the World" with British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who claimed the U.K. still faces a rising threat from terrorist groups linked to al Qaeda. "There are 2,000 individuals who are being monitored," Smith said in the interview. "There are 200 networks involved and 30 active plots."