UK Drops Terror Threat Level To ‘Substantial’ From ‘Severe’

UK Drops Terror Threat Level To ‘Substantial’ From ‘Severe’ but says an attack is still ‘likely’

Priti Patel the Home Secretary told MP’s during a meeting on Monday (February 8) that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) had last Thursday agreed to lower the terror threat level from ‘severe’ to ‘substantial’.

The threat level had been raised to ‘severe’ following the terror attacks in Austria and France back in November, but the Home Secretary warned that although the level had been dropped, the public should still remain vigilant, as an attack on the UK still remained likely.

Ms Patel said, “The decision to lower the threat level from severe to substantial is due to the significant reduction in the momentum of attacks in Europe since those seen between September and November 2020”.

The Home Secretary added, “However, the UK national threat level is kept under constant review and is subject to change at any time. Terrorism remains one of the most direct and immediate risks to our national security”.

She concluded, “Substantial continues to indicate a high level of threat, and an attack on the UK is still likely. The public should continue to remain vigilant and report any concerns to the police”.

Attacks in the UK have taken place previously when the level was set at ‘substantial, including the Fishmongers’ Hall attack of 2019, in which two people were killed, and the Streatham attack early last year.

Police and security sources have continued to stress that the short time scale in which some people can become radicalised, and the simple methods used to carry out many attacks, often make it difficult to know when an incident might occur.