Terror attack in Northern Ireland ‘highly likely’, says MI5 as threat level raised

Intelligence service urges public to ‘remain vigilant’ but not be alarmed

The terror threat level in Northern Ireland has been raised to ‘severe’ following an uptick in activity by a “small number” of dissident republicans determined to use “politically motivated violence”.

MI5 increased the threat from ‘substantial’  to ‘severe’, which means it deems an attack to be highly likely. The intelligence service, which makes assessments independent of ministers, urged the public to remain vigilant but "not be alarmed".

The move comes after a series of incidents targeting security forces in Northern Ireland, including the attempted murder of detective chief inspector John Caldwell in Omagh last month.