Britain raised its terror threat assessment on Friday from “substantial” to “severe,” the second-highest level, suggesting an attack on the country is “highly likely,” British Home Secretary Alan Johnson said.
The change was announced just weeks after a failed plane bombing in the US and days ahead of two major international conferences on Yemen and Afghanistan in London.
“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre [JTAC] has today raised the threat to the UK from international terrorism from substantial to severe,” Johnson said, referring to the assessment unit within the MI5 intelligence agency.
“This means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent,” he said.
In a television statement shortly afterwards, Johnson refused to say whether the amended threat assessment — to four in a five-level scale — was linked to the failed Detroit plane bombing on Dec. 25.
“We never say what the intelligence is,” he said, adding: “It shouldn’t be thought to be linked to Detroit or anywhere else for that matter.”
But a US official, who requested anonymity, said “that’s the implication.”
The US Department of Homeland Security said the announcement brought Britain in line with US security measures introduced “over the last few weeks.”
Johnson said the JTAC “looks at all factors and no one should draw any assumptions from this,” adding that the higher threat level meant Britain put “more resources in, we heighten the state of vigilance.”
In a statement issued by his office, he said that the threat level, which has been made public on MI5’s Web site since August 2006, was kept “under constant review.”
The JTAC “makes its judgments based on a broad range of factors, including the intent and capabilities of international terrorist groups in the UK and overseas,” he said.
Johnson said Britain continues to face a “real and serious threat” from international terrorism and urged the public to remain vigilant.
The threat level was last at “severe” on July 20 last year, when it was downgraded to substantial, suggesting an attack remains a “strong possibility.”
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday reiterated the threats the country faced as he unveiled new security measures sparked by the attempt to blow up a US airliner flying into Detroit, which has been claimed by al-Qaeda.
“We know that a number of terrorist cells are actively trying to attack Britain and other countries,” he told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
Brown said the “crucible of terrorism” was based on the Afghan-Pakistan border, but noted how the failed Detroit attack also highlighted the threat posed by militants in Yemen.
The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had reportedly trained in Yemen. He had also studied in London for three years.
Britain has organized a meeting to strengthen international support for Yemen in its efforts against al-Qaeda, to take place in London on Wednesday, the day before a high-level conference on Afghanistan.
Thousands gathered across New Zealand yesterday to celebrate the signing of the country’s founding document and some called for an end to government policies that critics say erode the rights promised to the indigenous Maori population. As the sun rose on the dawn service at Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs in 1840, some community leaders called on the government to honor promises made 185 years ago. The call was repeated at peaceful rallies that drew several hundred people later in the day. “This government is attacking tangata whenua [indigenous people] on all
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
UNDAUNTED: Panama would not renew an agreement to participate in Beijing’s Belt and Road project, its president said, proposing technical-level talks with the US US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks. On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal, accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that US President Donald Trump
The administration of US President Donald Trump has appointed to serve as the top public diplomacy official a former speech writer for Trump with a history of doubts over US foreign policy toward Taiwan and inflammatory comments on women and minorities, at one point saying that "competent white men must be in charge." Darren Beattie has been named the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, a senior US Department of State official said, a role that determines the tone of the US' public messaging in the world. Beattie requires US Senate confirmation to serve on a permanent basis. "Thanks to