Quote:UK terror threat raised to 'severe', Home Secretary announces

The UK's terror threat level has been raised from substantial to severe, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has announced.

By Andrew Hough, and Heidi Blake
Published: 8:37PM GMT 22 Jan 2010

The announcement means that an attack is now "highly likely".

Mr Johnson said that although the threat had increased there was no intelligence to suggest an attack was imminent.

The Home Secretary was not specific about the threat, but indicated it was not linked to the Detroit bombing on Christmas Day.

"The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the threat to the UK from international terrorism from substantial to severe,” he said.

"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.

"JTAC keeps the threat level under constant review and 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 that authorities were “not being specific about this, we are not gong to be specific about this”.

“In his statement to Parliament on security and counter terrorism earlier this week, the Prime Minister said that the first and most important duty of government is the protection and security of the British people,” he said.

“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.

"We have a very focused counter terrorism facility in this country and the public should be reassured by that."

He added: The fact is we keep this under review and moving to this different threat level means we have to be more alert and it means that an attack has moved to the level of being likely, but we have absolutely no intelligence to suggest that it is imminent."

Quote: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.

Quote:Blair will take his place amid intense security, with mass protests expected in Westminster. Sources close to Scotland Yard said Blair's appearance had been a major factor behind the government's decision to raise the terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe".

Intelligence operatives had picked up "domestic chatter" that had given them reason to believe his appearance before the inquiry required a higher state of alert. "We are gearing up for Blair," said the source."

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:Apparently it's largely Blair's fault, as he's finally appearing at the so-called Iraq Inquiry later this week:

Quote:Blair will take his place amid intense security, with mass protests expected in Westminster. Sources close to Scotland Yard said Blair's appearance had been a major factor behind the government's decision to raise the terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe".

Intelligence operatives had picked up "domestic chatter" that had given them reason to believe his appearance before the inquiry required a higher state of alert. "We are gearing up for Blair," said the source."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/24/iraq-chilcot-inquiry-michael-wood

Quote:1) THE PEOPLE'S VOICE ON BLAIR'S JUDGEMENT DAY

Writers, musicians, relatives of the dead, Iraqi refugees,
poets, human rights
lawyers, comedians, well known actors, MPs and ordinary
citizens are joining a day of protest, performance and
politics outside the Iraq Inquiry on Friday 29 January, as
Tony Blair faces his judgement day.

People who oppose Britain's foreign wars are coming from all
corners of the country. The verdict on Blair will affect
present and future wars. It needs to be made clear to the
world that people here regard him as a man guilty of taking
Britain into an illegal war.

The approximate timetable for Tony Blair's Judgement Day at
the QE2 Conference Centre, is as follows:

8.00: PROTEST STARTS AS BLAIR ARRIVES
A delegation including Iraqi citizens and grieving military
families take the People's Dossier of questions for Tony Blair
to Sir John Chilcot.

9.00-10.00: NAMING OF THE DEAD CEREMONY
When Blair's testimony begins, names of Iraqis killed in the
war will be read by novelist A.L Kennedy, Musician Brian Eno,
actor and director Sam West, actor and director Simon
McBurney, playwright David Edgar, Lancet editor Richard
Horton, former UK ambassador Craig Murray, Iraqi author Haifa
Zangana, comedian and author Alexei Sayle, actor Miriam
Margoyles, and more.

10.00-11.00: SPEECHES, READINGS AND PERFORMANCES
Including by many of those participating in the Naming the
Dead ceremony.

12.00-13.00: PERFORMANCE FROM LOWKEY, KING BLUES AND
OTHER MUSICIANS.

13.00-14.00: MILITARY FAMILIES NAMING OF THE DEAD
Members of military families who lost loved ones in the Iraq
war will read the names of all 179 British soldiers who died.

16.00: PROTEST AS TONY BLAIR LEAVES THE INQUIRY

Tony Blair's Judgement Day
Friday 29 January from 8.00am
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE
Nearest tube: Westminster

Quote:Options for Tony Blair 29 January - Tips From an Ex Senior Civil Servant

I very much doubt that Blair will enter the Iraq Inquiry via the front door. He can get in to the QE2 Conference Centre from the back by passing through the Institute of Mechanical Engineers building. That seems pretty likely. A strong detachment armed with buckets of blood should watch that route. Or he can arrive by an underground route using the spur to the QE2 conference centre from the old tunnel that connected Bomber Command (now known as The Citadel bunker) in Marsham St to the Cabinet Office and the MOD. As this tunnel network is an official secret I doubt they will want to risk him appearing mysteriously from nowhere, though.

Quote:Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321. If your information does not relate to an imminent threat, you can also contact the Security Service via the How You Can Help us page.

[B]Current threat level[/B]

The current threat level is assessed as SEVERE (as of 22nd January 2010 - see threat level history for previous changes).
This means there is a strong possibility of future terrorist attacks and indicates a continuing high level of threat to the UK.
See The UK's threat level system for more information on what threat levels mean, who decides the level of threat and how the threat level system is used.
The Government continues to maintain a state of heightened readiness in response to the threat from international terrorism. It remains the Government's policy to issue warnings or advice if this ever became necessary to protect public safety in the event of a specific and credible terrorist threat.
[B]Source and form of the threat[/B]

The threat of international terrorism comes from a diverse range of sources, including Al Qaida and associated networks, and those who share Al Qaida's ideology but do not have direct contact with them. A threat could manifest itself from a lone individual or group, rather than a larger network. Domestic terrorism related to Northern Ireland, principally from dissident Irish Republican and Loyalist terrorist groups, also remains a threat.
The terrorist threat can take a number of forms, as terrorists may use a variety of methods of attack to achieve their objectives. These may include explosive devices, firearms, missiles, kidnapping, infiltration and electronic attacks. See the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) (new window) website for practical advice on how to defend against these threats.
This page has been produced in consultation with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). It will be regularly reviewed and updated. Whilst every care has been taken in preparing this summary, the Security Service accepts no liability for any statement contained therein (see our Content Disclaimer).

Quote:The US, UK and Israel, and their representatives overseas, remain the prime targets for international terrorist networks, particularly Al Qaida.

However, Usama bin Laden has variously identified a number of other countries as allies of the US which should also be targeted.