News Limited, REVELATIONS by French intelligence authorities that suspected terrorist Willie Virgile Brigitte had been on their terrorism database highlighted major failures in Australia's counter-terrorism systems, Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said today.
Mr Rudd said he was profoundly disturbed by reports that a communication breakdown between Australia and French authorities may have allowed Brigitte to live undetected in Sydney for five months, gathering information and followers for an unspecified attack in Australia.
Gilles Leclair, controller-general of France's main counter-terrorism co-ordination unit, said investigators were “90 per cent sure” Brigitte was preparing an attack on Sydney, Fairfax papers reported today.
Mr Leclair said the French had worked on the Brigitte case “for some years”.
“This poses the fundamental basic question as to how is it that more than two years after September 11 a person such as Brigitte can walk into an Australian embassy, pick up a tourism visa and travel to Australia for five months – despite the fact he was already on France's domestic terrorism data base,” Mr Rudd said.
“This is profoundly disturbing – not just in terms of massive failure within the Howard Government's counter-terrorism systems, but also in terms of the potential consequences for Australia for this failure.”
Australian authorities have said the first they knew of Brigitte's suspected terrorist links was when the French told them on September 22.
The 35-year-old was deported on October 17 for breaching his visa conditions.
Prime Minister John Howard has said his government had no available evidence to support suggestions Brigitte was planning an attack on Australian soil.
