UK terrorism threat level increased to ‘severe’.

Home Secretary Priti Patel informed that the UK’s terrorism threat level has increased from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’.

On Monday 5 people died, including an attacker, in the shooting in Vienna. It was just after the knife attack in Nice, in which another 3 people were stabbed to death. The incidents were followed by the murder of teacher Samuel Paty in Paris last month.

Police officers in the streets of Viena.

The new precautionary measure means that the attack is considered ‘highly likely’ to occur in the UK and these are the following steps after the horrible incidents in Austria and France.

The decision has been made by Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC).

The five levels of threat set by the JTAC are:

· Low - an attack is highly unlikely

· Moderate - an attack is possible but not likely

· Substantial - an attack is likely

· Severe - an attack is highly likely

· Critical - an attack is highly likely in the near future

Security Chiefs have taken the significant steps to amend the powers and strengthen the security tools. The public is urged to stay alert and report anything of concern to police. The additional forces are expected on the streets in the coming days.

‘The new terror level seems a precautionary effort designed to encourage vigilance among the public while also heightening the alert level of the security forces,’ said Dr Steve Hewitt, a Senior Lecturer in Counterterrorism at University of Birmingham.

‘There may well have been concern of a possible attack just before the start of lockdown in England in the same way that an attack occurred in Vienna just before the start of lockdown there. There would also be apprehension at the possibility of copycat attacks inspired by what has happened in France and Austria,’ he said.

Written by Grabriela Wyszynska.