UK terror threat level raised to ‘severe’ after attacks in France and Austria

New assessment finds that attacks are ‘highly likely’

The UK’s terrorism threat level has been raised to severe, meaning that an attack is judged to be highly likely.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (Jtac) made the assessment following a spate of attacks in France and the shooting rampage by an Isis supporter in Vienna.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, said: “The British people should be alert but not alarmed. This is a precautionary measure following the horrific events of the last week in France and last night in Austria and is not based on a specific threat.”

Isis, al-Qaeda and other jihadi groups have been ramping up calls in recent days for supporters around the world to commit atrocities.

The UK’s terrorism threat level was lowered to substantial a year ago, just weeks before an Islamist extremist murdered two people at a rehabilitation event in London.

Three other alleged terrorist attacks took place this year in HMP Whitemoor prison, Streatham and Reading.

They are among 12 such attacks to have taken place in the UK since March 2017 – 10 Islamist and two far-right.

Security services have foiled more than 20 other plots in the same period, and a record number of people are currently serving prison sentences for terrorism offences.

Ms Patel said the government had taken “significant steps” to amend its powers and strengthen its tools for dealing with terrorism threats.

“That process will continue, and the British public should be in no doubt that we will take the strongest possible action to protect our national security,” the home secretary added.

“As I’ve said before, we face a real and serious threat in the UK from terrorism.

“I would ask the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police.”

Counter-terrorism police believe that lockdown restrictions brought in to tackle the coronavirus pandemic may force a change to terrorist methodology.

Through its propaganda, Isis popularised the targeting of crowded places using low-tech methods including vehicles and knives.

Armed police officers at the scene of the attack in Vienna, Austria (AP)

Most terrorist attacks in continental Europe during the pandemic appear to have been more targeted, including the killings at a Nice church last week and the murder of a French teacher who showed students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Nick Aldworth, who was the national police lead for protecting against terrorist attacks until his retirement last year, said the number of terrorism investigations and “subjects of interest” to the security services was higher than in 2017.

“We mustn’t think we will be immune from the wave of attacks in Europe,” he added. “This is how 2017 started and these events embolden the weak-minded. We must prepare now.”

He urged members of the public and businesses to use free online security training by counter-terrorism police.

Neil Basu, the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said his thoughts were with the victims of attacks in Austria and France.

“At this time, there is no intelligence to link any of these attacks to the UK, and officers from Counter Terrorism Policing continue to work closely with our international partners and will of course provide any assistance where we can," he added.

"This threat level moving to severe means it is highly likely that a terrorist attack could happen in the UK, but I want to stress that the change is not based on a specific threat."

Mr Basu called for communities to stand together and "reject those who seek to sow division and hatred between us".

The senior officer said protective measures were being increased and there would be more visible police patrols.

“Some of this will be visible and involve additional police officers being deployed to certain places and locations, which the public can expect to see over the coming days,” he added.