Current UK Threat Picture

Current threat level

The current threat level is assessed as SEVERE

This means that an attack is highly likely and indicates a continuing high level of threat to the UK.

The investigation into the recent terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow is continuing under the leadership of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command , with the assistance of the Security Service.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday 2 July, the Home Secretary noted that the investigation is progressing rapidly and a number of people have been arrested. Security across the country has been stepped up in response to the increased threat level.

UK mailrooms are currently on a high level of alert after a spate of letterbombings in Jan/Feb 2007.

Businesses should be vigilant when opening mail and packages and where possible install screening equipment.

see our products page for more details on mailscanning equipment and our training pages on how to train staff in mail security measures.

The Threat to the UK from International Terrorism

International terrorism is one of the most serious national security threats that we face today. As the London terrorist attacks in July 2005 showed, an attack or multiple attacks may be mounted without warning.

The Government continues to maintain a state of heightened readiness in response to the threat. It remains the Government's policy to issue warnings or advice if this ever became necessary to protect public safety in the event of a specific and credible terrorist threat.

This page provides a brief summary of the current threat to the UK from international terrorism, as background to the security advice available on this website. It has been produced in consultation with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC).

The threat of international terrorism comes from a diverse range of sources, including Al Qaida and associated networks, and those who share Al Qaida's ideology but do not have direct contact with them. A threat could manifest itself from a lone individual or group, rather than a larger network. Such groups and individuals have a wide range of aspirations and causes, such as:

• replacing governments that they regard as insufficiently pious;
  
• reclaiming what they regard as occupied territories;
  
• rejecting democratic institutions and values in favour of an extreme interpretation of Islam;
  
• reducing the influence of Western countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.

In recent years, Iraq has become a dominant issue for a range of extremist groups and individuals in the UK and Europe.

The source of the threat

The UK is a prominent target for international terrorist groups. There have been bomb and gun attacks on British citizens and interests in a number of countries over the last few years, as well as targets in the UK itself:

• November 2003 - Al Qaida attacked the British Consulate and HSBC building in Istanbul, killing 27 people including three British citizens;
  
• September 2004 - A British national residing in Saudi Arabia was killed in a Riyadh shopping centre by Al Qaida gunmen;
  
• October 2004 - British engineer Kenneth Bigley was murdered in Iraq by the Al Qaida in Iraq group;
  
• March 2005 - A British teacher was killed in a car bomb explosion in Doha, Qatar;
  
• July 2005 - Four suicide bombers attacked the London transport system, killing themselves and 52 other passengers. A subsequent attempted attack failed, with no casualties being caused.

British and foreign nationals linked to or sympathetic with Al Qaida are known to be present within the UK. They are supporting the activities of terrorist groups in a range of ways. For example, they are:

• providing resources for terrorist networks engaged in conflicts overseas;
  
• fundraising for terrorist networks overseas and in the UK;
  
• acquiring and disseminating false documents for use by terrorists in the UK and overseas; and
  
• facilitating training in the UK and overseas in extremist ideology and terrorist techniques.

In some cases they have also been engaged in directly planning, or attempting to carry out, terrorist attack. Some of the terrorists have received military and specialist terrorist training in camps overseas. Relationships forged in these training camps have formed the basis of loose networks of terrorists who can operate outside structured Organisations.

Some British residents have travelled to Iraq to join the insurgency against the country's government and Multinational coalition forces. In the longer term, it is possible that they may later return to the UK and consider mounting attacks here.

Defeating International Terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the principal activity of the Security Service. We work closely with the police and other agencies to combat this threat. Since 11 September 2001, a number of planned terrorist attacks have been thwarted in the UK. There have been a number of significant arrests and convictions during this period:

• April 2004 - Eight men from around the UK were charged with terrorism-related offences (including conspiracy to cause an explosion and possession of an article for the purposes of terrorism). This followed an extensive Security Service and police investigation into their activities. Their trial began in March 2006 and is still ongoing.
  
• August 2004 - A separate group of eight men were charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Three of the eight were also charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 with possession of information of use to terrorists. The case has not yet come to trial.
  
• April 2005 - Sajid Badat (the "second shoe bomber") was sentenced to 13 years in prison for planning to blow up a passenger aircraft from Europe to the United States in 2001.Also in April 2005, Kamel Bourgass, who stabbed to death DC Stephen Oake in January 2003, was jailed 17 years for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance using toxic chemicals and explosives (the so-called "Ricin plot").
  
• September 2005 - Andrew Rowe, an Islamist convert linked to Al Qaida, was found guilty on two counts of possession of information of use to terrorists, and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

This page has been produced by M15 in consultation with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC).

met police counter-terrorism campaign
portable x-ray equipment for checking unattended articles

mi5.gov.uk
homeoffice.gov.uk