Whitehall's past counter-terrorism strategies were flawed and failed to expose the local radicalisation of British Muslims in the run-up to the London bombings in 2005, a former security minister has admitted.

The frank admission last week by Lord West, a Labour security minister under Gordon Brown, came amid fresh revelations from whistle-blower website Wikileaks – which also indicate Britain repeatedly ignored warnings to stop granting asylum to international Islamic extremists.