Greens say it 'should not be a crime' to join IS or Al Qaida

The leader of the Green party has stated that supporting or joining terrorist groups like Islamic State and Al-Qaida should not be a crime.

Speaking on BBC's Daily Politics show, Natalie Bennett said that people should be free to think what they want and support who they want, though warned that anyone inciting or committing acts of violence would still feel the "full extent of the law".

"What we want to do is make sure we are not punishing people for what they think or what they believe," she said.

Bennett also spoke about plans to reduce the army - replacing it with a smaller home defence force.

She added that the Greens would progressively ease immigration controls.

"What we have to do is stop the race to the bottom on immigration rhetoric that we have been hearing, led by Ukip and sadly followed by the other [parties]," she said.