James Foley murder betrays Britain - Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond says Britain is helping Kurdish fighters in Iraq

The murder of a US journalist by an Islamic State militant believed to be from the UK is "an utter betrayal of everything the British people stand for", the foreign secretary has said.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Philip Hammond said the government was investing "significant resources" to tackle "a barbaric ideology".

This, he added, could threaten Britain.

Echoing other government ministers, Mr Hammond said the threat from Syria and Iraq would last a generation.

While the security services hunt the man who beheaded American James Foley, the foreign secretary made clear his revulsion that the culprit could be British.

'Strategy clear'

"It is horrifying to think that the perpetrator of this heinous act could have been brought up in Britain," Mr Hammond said.

"It is an utter betrayal of our country, our values and everything the British people stand for.

More than 500 British citizens are thought to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight in the past few years.

Mr Hammond said the UK had assisted Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who are battling against Islamic State, with military aircraft delivering equipment.

He confirmed Britain would soon start sending eastern European ammunition and weaponry "with which they are already familiar".

He also said the government was "scoping out" what the UK might supply itself - such as night vision equipment, weapons and ammunition - although no specific request had yet been made.

Mr Hammond said: "Our strategy is clear. We are investing significant resources to tackle this problem for the long-term."

'Bloodthirsty skills'

Meanwhile, senior Conservative MP David Davis has called for British jihadists to be stripped of their UK citizenship.

In an article for the Mail on Sunday, he said: "Since these young men are in effect swearing allegiance to a hostile state, they should all forfeit their British citizenship - not just those who are dual nationals.

"Since this is an incredibly serious penalty, it should be done only after a proper public trial carrying all the public seriousness and opprobrium of a murder trial, because in many cases that is what it would be.

"As the home secretary reiterated yesterday, lawyers would say you cannot render someone stateless.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Whitehall lawyers have been wrong before. Democracies have a right to defend themselves."

Writing in the same newspaper, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey made a similar point.

"They should not have access to the privilege of travelling under a British passport," he said, "and they certainly should not be able to travel back with the barbaric and bloodthirsty skills they have gained."

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that new laws will be brought in to tackle British extremists.