Good Muslim?
A Labour councillor from Rochdale, Shakil Ahmed, issued a statement saying that his son, Waheed Ahmed, is a "good Muslim" on hearing the news that Waheed had been detained by Turkish police after trying to cross illegally into Syria.
Now I don't know how Councillor Ahmed defines a 'good Muslim', but I fail to see how this can be applied to someone who wants to enter a war zone controlled by the Islamic State which is murdering fellow human beings for fun.
So young Waheed who looks as though he regards the whole business as a big joke if this BBC report is anything to go by, clearly must have known what he was doing and needs to take responsibility for his actions.
In fact I'm coming round to the view that perhaps we should just let people like Waheed go to Syria and join up with the Islamic State on the basis that their passports are cancelled, so that they can never return to the UK.
Because why would we want these people living among us when they have rejected the live-and-let-live tolerant values which underpin the UK?
Syria border arrests: Seized Briton is son of councillor
Waheed Ahmed was among nine Britons detained in Turkey, his father has said
One of nine Britons detained in Turkey for allegedly trying to cross illegally into Syria has been named as the son of a Labour councillor.
Rochdale councillor Shakil Ahmed said he had thought his son Waheed, 22, was on a work placement in Birmingham.
He was detained alongside four adults, aged 21, 22, 24 and 47, and children, aged one, three, eight and 11,
The group - seized near the Syrian border - are all from Rochdale and are thought to be related, police said.
Mr Ahmed said he wanted his son to come home "as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on".
In a statement, the councillor said:
One of nine Britons detained in Turkey for allegedly trying to cross illegally into Syria has been named as the son of a Labour councillor.
Rochdale councillor Shakil Ahmed said he had thought his son Waheed, 22, was on a work placement in Birmingham.
He was detained alongside four adults, aged 21, 22, 24 and 47, and children, aged one, three, eight and 11,
The group - seized near the Syrian border - are all from Rochdale and are thought to be related, police said.
Mr Ahmed said he wanted his son to come home "as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on".
In a statement, the councillor said:
"My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there.
"If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.
"He's studying a degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University and has a good future ahead of him."
Greater Manchester Police and the North West Counter Terrorism force have launched an investigation to establish why the group apparently tried to enter Syria.
All nine are expected to be sent back to the UK "in due course", police said.
"If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.
"He's studying a degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University and has a good future ahead of him."
Greater Manchester Police and the North West Counter Terrorism force have launched an investigation to establish why the group apparently tried to enter Syria.
All nine are expected to be sent back to the UK "in due course", police said.
'Dangerous environment'
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone; such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever."
He said the primary concern was the "safety and welfare" of the children, and efforts were being made to ensure a "full safeguarding strategy" was in place upon their return.
Officers had uncovered "no evidence whatsoever" of any imminent threat to the UK that was linked to the group, police added.
Gail Hopper, director of children's services at Rochdale Borough Council, said the authority was "aware of the situation" and cooperating with police.
The family was detained by Turkish authorities at Reyhanli, in Hatay province, near the Syrian border.
They were taken to a police station in southern Turkey overnight, and then sent to a department for foreigners awaiting deportation to the UK.
They have undergone medical examinations and had their fingerprints taken.
The UK Foreign Office has said it is in contact with the Turkish authorities.
'Despicable' move
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said the news was "deeply worrying".
"The idea you can take young children into a war zone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this," he said.
Iman Irfan Chishti, from the Rochdale Council of Mosques, said he was "shocked" to hear the group was from the town.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone; such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever."
He said the primary concern was the "safety and welfare" of the children, and efforts were being made to ensure a "full safeguarding strategy" was in place upon their return.
Officers had uncovered "no evidence whatsoever" of any imminent threat to the UK that was linked to the group, police added.
Gail Hopper, director of children's services at Rochdale Borough Council, said the authority was "aware of the situation" and cooperating with police.
The family was detained by Turkish authorities at Reyhanli, in Hatay province, near the Syrian border.
They were taken to a police station in southern Turkey overnight, and then sent to a department for foreigners awaiting deportation to the UK.
They have undergone medical examinations and had their fingerprints taken.
The UK Foreign Office has said it is in contact with the Turkish authorities.
'Despicable' move
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said the news was "deeply worrying".
"The idea you can take young children into a war zone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this," he said.
Iman Irfan Chishti, from the Rochdale Council of Mosques, said he was "shocked" to hear the group was from the town.
Waheed Ahmed has been named by his father, Rochdale councillor Shakil Ahmed
The Britons were detained by Turkish security forces as they allegedly tried to cross into Syria
Turkish soldiers transported the British nationals to a police station in southern Turkey overnight
It comes after three British teenagers were stopped from travelling into Syria from Turkey last month.
The three young men - two aged 17 and one 19, from north-west London - were arrested following a tip-off from British police and flown back to the UK. They have since been released on police bail.
In February this year there were recriminations between British police and Turkish officials after three London schoolgirls disappeared from Turkey, apparently having crossed the border into Syria.
Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16 had flown to Istanbul and travelled to the border region.
Turkish officials said they had not been warned promptly enough by British police to intercept them - Scotland Yard denied this.
About 600 Britons are believed to have gone to Syria or Iraq since Islamic State (IS) militants seized control of large swathes of territory there.
And the United Nations estimates the number of foreign fighters joining militant groups in the region is more than 25,000 - from 100 different nations.
