How there are around 3,500 suspected terrorists in UK – but powers to monitor them were used LESS last year than in 2015

DESPITE the number of potential terrorists in the UK rising to 3,500 the police are using their powers to monitor them less.

Figures show arrests, stop and searches and examinations at ports and airports were down in 2016 from the year before, even though the amount of suspects being watched increased.

The statistics are from a quarterly Home Office report on the use of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 released earlier this year.

Since then there has been the devastating Westminster terror attack, and last night's horrific bombing in Manchester, where at least 22 people have died.

In 2016 there were 260 terror-related arrests, a drop of eight per cent on the 282 people held in 2015, as revealed by the .

But around 400 ISIS-trained fighters are believed to have returned to Britain from Iraq and Syria to join the 3,000 potential terrorists monitored since 2015 in this country.

The report showed the use of powers to question people entering or leaving the country at UK border areas fell by 30 per cent last year.

In 2015, the power was used around 27,800 times, but this fell to 19,355 last year, with the document stating: "This has continued the decline in the use of the power in recent years."

The number of people detained further after being held under this power fell in 2016 by 16 per cent year on year.

And the amount of stop and searches of suspected terrorists across the UK fell by seven per cent, from 521 to 483.

The report put this down to a high number of stop and searches in the final quarter of 2015 which was not replicated in 2016.

The figures also showed the amount of white people being arrested on suspicion of terrorism has gone up from 25 per cent in 2015 to 35 per cent in 2016.