The U.K. recently raised its terror threat to “Critical,” which means that authorities believe another attack can come imminently. Early in September 2017, the terror threat level stood one level below at “Severe,” after the U.K. saw four terror attacks in the space of three months.
British Prime Minister Teresa May was reported as saying that the decision to raise the terror threat to critical came after an explosion on a train in London which injured nearly 30 people. Now that the terror threat has been raised, more troops on the streets are expected, and anyone visiting large, public events will notice a heightened level of security. Airports and railway stations will also see an increase in security.
Neil Basu, the Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, said that after the “[s]ummer like no other” which involved four terror attacks, he did not think that the threat level would be changed from critical before 2022.
RKN Global’s founder, Ronald K. Noble, observes that official terror threat level assessments help the government in allocation of its security resources. They also can help the public, highlighting the importance to each citizen of paying attention to his or her surroundings. Such attention can save lives.
Anyone travelling around the U.K. may face disruption to their travel plans, as more security checks will be taking place. The public have therefore been informed that they may have to allow time for delays while the extra security checks are being carried out.The UK.’s threat level had previously been raised to critical in 2006, when security agencies discovered a plot that involved plans to blow up planes travelling from the U.K. to the U.S. The threat level has only been raised to “Critical” one time since then, following an attack at an airport in Scotland in 2007.
