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UK terror threat level raised to Severe

The UK’s terror threat level has been raised from “substantial” to “severe” in response to conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Home Secretary Theresa May says.

The new alert level rates the risk of an attack on the UK “highly likely”, although Mrs May said there was no evidence to suggest one was “imminent”.

It is the second highest of five possible UK threat levels.

PM David Cameron said new legislation would make it easier to take passports from those travelling abroad to fight.

The home secretary already has the power, under the Royal Prerogative, to withhold a passport if it is in the public interest to stop somebody travelling.

That power was used 14 times between April 2013 and the end of March 2014 to stop people travelling abroad for alleged terrorist-related or criminal activity.

Gaps in Armoury

In a Downing Street press conference on Friday, Mr Cameron said Islamic State (IS) extremists – who are attempting to establish a “caliphate”, or Islamic state – represented a “greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before”.

He said that “learning lessons from the past doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for our military” in combating the threat, but did not commit to any military action.

He added the “threat is growing” from Britons travelling to fight with IS, saying at least 500 people had travelled from the UK “to fight in Syria and potentially Iraq”.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead for counter-terrorism, said security and protection measures were being increased following the increase in the threat level.

And efforts are continuing to identify a suspected British jihadist who appeared in IS footage of the killing of US journalist James Foley.

Mr Cameron said the murder of Mr Foley was “clear evidence – not that any more was needed – that this is not some far-off [problem], thousands of miles away, that we can ignore”.

He did not give extensive details on what the changed threat level would mean, stressing people “should continue to go about our lives in the normal way”.

As well as making it easier to take away the passports of suspected British jihadists, Mr Cameron said measures to tackle the threat included:

  • Emergency legislation to make communications data available to police and security services
  • Working with the Kurds to make sure they had the arms needed to battle IS militants
  • Assisting the US by providing intelligence gathering
  • Delivering aid supplies to communities displaced by IS
  • Changes in levels of policing in the UK, especially the numbers of armed police

More steps to deal with the threat would be announced on Monday, Mr Cameron said, adding there were “gaps in our armoury” which needed to be strengthened.

Attacks Against West

Earlier, in a statement, Mrs May said: “The increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West.

“Some of those plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have travelled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts.

“The first and most important duty of government is the protection of the British people.”

Analysis by Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent

The raised threat level may not lead to visible signs of change on the streets – but it is a sign of the increased concern and security activity behind the scenes involving all of the UK’s intelligence and security bodies.

The last time the level was this high was between January 2010 and the summer of 2011. This may have been linked to attempts by an al-Qaeda affiliate to smuggle bombs on to planes heading out of the Middle East.

The highest level is “critical”- meaning an attack is expected imminently. Officials have twice put the country on such an alert – in 2006 after the discovery of liquid bombs aimed at airliners and then the following year when extremists attempted to bomb Glasgow Airport and London’s West End.

In other words – if security chiefs had knowledge of a clear threat they could not contain, the level would already be one notch higher.

Mrs May said decisions about the threat level were made by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC).

She added: “JTAC’s judgements about that threat level are made on the basis of the very latest intelligence and are independent of ministers.”

Increased Patrols

AC Rowley said: “From this afternoon we will begin to increase our levels of visible patrols and implement other security and protection measures.

“We will also build on existing community relations to provide reassurance and seek their support and assistance in keeping the UK safe.”

He urged communities and families to report anyone who is “vulnerable, a danger or escalating towards terrorism” by calling the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.

Baroness Neville-Jones, a former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said the higher threat level was “justified”, adding it was “not something you do for the sake of it”.

UK terror threat levels

  • Critical – attack expected imminently
  • Severe – attack highly likely
  • Substantial – attack a strong possibility
  • Moderate – attack possible but not likely
  • Low – an attack unlikely

Source: Home Office