Terror attack on UK "highly likely", government warns

The UK’s under “severe” terror threat because of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Home Secretary Theresa May said today.

May has raised Britain’s threat level from “substantial” to “severe”. This means that an attack on the UK is “highly likely”. However, May pointed out that there is no intelligence to prove that an attack was “imminent”.

The national threat levels set up by Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) are: critical – an attack is expected imminently; severe – an attack is highly likely; substantial – an attack is a strong possibility; moderate – an attack is possible but not likely; and low – an attack is unlikely.

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.

“We have already taken steps to improve our powers and increase our capabilities for dealing with the developing terrorist threats we face. That process will continue and the British public should be in no doubt that we will take the strongest possible action to protect our national security.”

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