UK terror threat level increased to SEVERE after continental attack

Britain’s terror threat level has been raised to “severe,” Homeland Minister Priti Patel said today, meaning an attack is now considered “very likely”.

The change comes after a gunman in Vienna identified as a convicted jihadist killed four people in a rampage overnight.

“This is a precautionary measure and is not based on any specific threat,” Patel said on Twitter.

“The British public should have no doubt that we will take the strongest possible measures to protect our national security.”

He did not mention the Vienna attack in his statement.

The new threat level means that an attack is highly likely, based on the government’s rating system. The “substantial” level above meant that an attack was likely.

Britain’s threat level is assessed by the Joint Center for Terrorism Analysis, which is accountable to the national intelligence agency MI5 and is made up of representatives from 16 government departments and agencies.

Interior Ministry sources told the Telegraph that the public should be “alert but not alarmed” by the improvement in the threat level, which was last severe exactly one year ago.

Security analyst Will Geddes said British cities could be targeted by terrorists this week as would-be attackers rush to launch atrocities before the country returns to the blockade, a leading security expert warned.

He said terrorists found the deserted streets of many European cities during the first wave of the pandemic more difficult to commit mass murder.

But as blockades across the continent have eased, potential attacks have become more likely.

And as many countries return to lockdown restrictions, would-be terrorists could be looking to launch atrocities before major cities are emptied again, according to Geddes.

Both France and Austria suffered deadly terrorist attacks in the last week, the day before a new blockade took effect.

Last Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would again sink into new restrictions at the national level on Friday.

The day after his speech, on Thursday, a Tunisian-born cutler stabbed to death two women and a man in the Notre-Dame de Nice cathedral.

The attacker reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest in Arabic) and the police shot him, but he did not die, for which the officers arrested him.

On Saturday Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced new restrictions in his country to start on Tuesday.

One day before this blockade began (Monday), a man armed with rifles opened fire at six different locations in Vienna, killing four people and wounding 22.

The shootings took place near the capital’s central synagogue, but it is not yet clear if that was the goal when he opened fire on drinkers who were sitting outside in a busy area of ​​the city.

The ISIS attacker announced the attack on Instagram and had previously been jailed for trying to go to Syria.

Geddes, managing director of the ICP Group that advises on security threats around the world, said these latest killings could have been planned to take place before the lockdowns and while there were still many unsuspecting victims outside.

He said: ‘One of the biggest problems we have to remember is that terrorism is not very successful if there are empty streets, where there are fewer potential victims and it is easier for the security services to identify them.

“Terrorists like to target densely populated areas, which are less when people are not on the streets as much.

“When a country has implemented a blockade it makes it much less attractive for terrorists to carry out attacks because it will not achieve the casualties and deaths they want, as they have done in Vienna and Nice.

“Nothing can be ruled out right now, the hardest part for fighting terrorism is trying to see what opportunities these groups will try to seize.”

Geddes warned that the security services in Britain should also be on high alert, as England enters a new month-long national lockdown starting on Thursday.

He added: ‘I think that like any country that relaxes a lockdown, it should be on guard because terrorist groups will seize that opportunity when people start to return to the streets.

‘Similarly, security services must be on guard as new closures approach.

“Terrorist groups will seek to attack as many non-combatants as possible and this will be more likely when people remain innocent people on the streets, so the security services will be on guard for the next few days.”

There was initially a drop in terrorist incidents in Europe during widespread shutdowns instigated in March to slow the spread of the virus, Geddes said.

He added: “There has been very little terrorism in central Europe in recent months, since the beginning of the year in March.

“These groups feel that they have to stay current and relevant and one way to do that is to launch attacks again, as they have done. The relaxing lock is an opportunity for them to take advantage of it.

‘What are the key targets of the terrorists? Causing chaos and high casualty rates.

“If you have empty streets, it is more difficult for the terrorists to move around and easier for the authorities.

“Recently, more and more attacks have been low-fidelity, using easily accessible vehicles or weapons.”

The Vienna shooting has put European authorities on alert, as it mimics the ‘loitering’ attacks seen in Mumbai in 2008, in which gunmen roamed the city capturing bystanders.

Mr Geddes said: “It seems we are in 2008 in Mumbai, when there were spontaneous attacks in the city with firearms attacks.

“With marauding terrorism, terrorists can use the situation to cause chaos and disruption wherever possible.”