EXTREMIST groups have sympathisers and supporters in almost every corner of Britain including many parts of Scotland, anti-terrorist officials believe.

MI5 and Special Branch officers have drawn up a so-called extremist map of the UK showing the locations of groups and individuals suspected of involvement with militant groups, it was revealed yesterday.

The map, which summarises counter-terrorist officials’ latest assessment of potential threats, includes Edinburgh, Glasgow and other Scottish cities as sites for suspected Islamic extremists.

The emergence of the map comes a week after Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, revealed that in the wake of the July bomb attacks on London, “hundreds” of people nationwide are under surveillance by police and MI5 officers on suspicion of involvement with terrorism.

The full details of the map remain a closely guarded secret, withheld even from many senior police officers. But security officials have made clear that the overall assessment is that just about every region and county of the UK is under threat.

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