Terror threat level raised to ‘severe’ after Golders Green attack
The UK terrorism threat level has been raised to “severe” in the wake of the Golders Green stabbings, meaning a terror attack is “highly likely”.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre announced the decision on Thursday, the day after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London and in the wake of a spate of attacks in Jewish neighbourhoods in recent weeks.
The body, which is based in MI5 but makes independent assessments, previously set the threat level at “substantial”, meaning an attack was “likely”.
The decision is not solely a result of the Golders Green attack, the Home Office said, adding that the terrorist threat level in the UK has been “rising for some time, driven by an increase in broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK”.
It also comes against a backdrop of “increased state-linked physical threats which is encouraging acts of violence, including against the Jewish community”, it added.
Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said officers have seen an “elevated threat” to the Jewish community.
Speaking outside New Scotland Yard, he said: “Our casework is increasing across a number of ideologies, and within that, we are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK.
Published: by Radio NewsHub