UK raises terror threat level to "severe"
Home Secretary Theresa May said the UK terror threat level was raised from "substantial" to "severe" in the wake of ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
The new alert level, the second highest on the UK threat level scale, means Britain is "highly likely" to be subject to a terrorist organisation offence, though the home secretary stressed nothing suggested an attack was "imminent".
"The increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West," May said in a statement.
"Some of those plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have travelled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts.
"The first and most important duty of government is the protection of the British people.
"We have already taken steps to improve our powers and increase our capabilities for dealing with the developing terrorist threats we face. 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 said the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) was responsible for the decision to raise the threat level in Britain.
"JTAC's judgements about that threat level are made on the basis of the very latest intelligence and are independent of ministers," May said.
"JTAC has today raised the threat level to the UK from international terrorism from substantial to severe.
"That means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but there is no intelligence to suggest that an attack is imminent."
Prime Minister David Cameron said that had least 500 British citizens had travelled "to fight in Syria and potentially Iraq" and claimed Islamic State (IS) militants were a "greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before".
Cameron announced a new legislation, which would make it easier to take passports away from people traveling abroad to join the conflict, would be introduced.
DC