The threat of a terrorist attack was last night raised to “severe” amid fears that al-Qaeda is planning a wave of attacks following the Detroit bombings.
The decision follows analysis by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), a unit within MI5, and indicates an attack is now "highly likely.”It was made following briefings to the Prime Minister by the heads of the security services MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee.The move comes as foreign ministers are preparing to meet in London next week to discuss the threat of terrorism in Yemen and Afghanistan.Those present will include Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Sources said the Detroit attack on Christmas Day, which demonstrated a new methodology and increased threat, was “one of the factors” but said the decision is taken after looking at intelligence “in the round.”MI5 is watching around 2,000 individuals across Britain although the activity among domestic extremists is not thought to have risen significantly in recent months.Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary said: “I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent.“JTAC keeps the threat level under constant review makes its judgments based on a broad range of factors, including the intent and capabilities of international terrorist groups in the UK and overseas.“We still face a real and serious threat to the UK from international terrorism so I would urge the public to remain vigilant and carry on reporting suspicious events to the appropriate authorities and to support the police and security services in their continuing efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity.”Gordon Brown warned earlier this week that “a number of terrorist cells are actively trying to attack Britain and other countries.”His speech to the House of Commons came after he received a briefing on the latest intelligence at a meeting of the Cabinet’s National Security Committee.Mr Brown said the failed attack over Detroit on Christmas Day signalled “the first operation mounted outside Arabia by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”He also talked about the increased threat from Somalia in East Africa and the Sahel in West Africa, adding that there would be a greater degree of intelligence sharing with foreign countries.Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, who tried to set off a bomb in his underwear, has warned his FBI interrogators that up to 20 “more like me” may be preparing further attacks.The government is setting up a new ‘watch list’ system to try and stop terrorist suspects boarding planes.MI5, MI6 and the GCHQ listening centre have also begun setting up "joint investigating and targeting teams", which are designed to address potential threats before suspects might reach Britain.The teams are designed to work with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to collect, share and use intelligence.The US Department for Homeland Security said the measures effectively put Britain at the same alert level as America following the Christmas Day attack.Severe is the fourth of five threat levels. The level was reduced to “substantial” last July for the first time in four years after a judgment was made that there had been a “chilling” effect on terrorism in Britain.The assessment is based on a range of factors including intelligence, current terrorist activity, comparison with events in other countries and previous attacks.MI5 say that it is rare that specific intelligence about a threat is available and can be relied on and that more often, judgements about the threat will be based on a wide range of information, which is often “fragmentary”.Those elements include what is known about the capabilities of terrorists, the method they may use, and the potential scale of the attack as well as the targets they would consider attacking.
The decision follows analysis by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), a unit within MI5, and indicates an attack is now "highly likely.”It was made following briefings to the Prime Minister by the heads of the security services MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee.The move comes as foreign ministers are preparing to meet in London next week to discuss the threat of terrorism in Yemen and Afghanistan.Those present will include Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Sources said the Detroit attack on Christmas Day, which demonstrated a new methodology and increased threat, was “one of the factors” but said the decision is taken after looking at intelligence “in the round.”MI5 is watching around 2,000 individuals across Britain although the activity among domestic extremists is not thought to have risen significantly in recent months.Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary said: “I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent.“JTAC keeps the threat level under constant review makes its judgments based on a broad range of factors, including the intent and capabilities of international terrorist groups in the UK and overseas.“We still face a real and serious threat to the UK from international terrorism so I would urge the public to remain vigilant and carry on reporting suspicious events to the appropriate authorities and to support the police and security services in their continuing efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity.”Gordon Brown warned earlier this week that “a number of terrorist cells are actively trying to attack Britain and other countries.”His speech to the House of Commons came after he received a briefing on the latest intelligence at a meeting of the Cabinet’s National Security Committee.Mr Brown said the failed attack over Detroit on Christmas Day signalled “the first operation mounted outside Arabia by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”He also talked about the increased threat from Somalia in East Africa and the Sahel in West Africa, adding that there would be a greater degree of intelligence sharing with foreign countries.Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, who tried to set off a bomb in his underwear, has warned his FBI interrogators that up to 20 “more like me” may be preparing further attacks.The government is setting up a new ‘watch list’ system to try and stop terrorist suspects boarding planes.MI5, MI6 and the GCHQ listening centre have also begun setting up "joint investigating and targeting teams", which are designed to address potential threats before suspects might reach Britain.The teams are designed to work with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to collect, share and use intelligence.The US Department for Homeland Security said the measures effectively put Britain at the same alert level as America following the Christmas Day attack.Severe is the fourth of five threat levels. The level was reduced to “substantial” last July for the first time in four years after a judgment was made that there had been a “chilling” effect on terrorism in Britain.The assessment is based on a range of factors including intelligence, current terrorist activity, comparison with events in other countries and previous attacks.MI5 say that it is rare that specific intelligence about a threat is available and can be relied on and that more often, judgements about the threat will be based on a wide range of information, which is often “fragmentary”.Those elements include what is known about the capabilities of terrorists, the method they may use, and the potential scale of the attack as well as the targets they would consider attacking.
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