Vlada Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva: Nivo prijetnje od terorizma sada je 'ozbiljan'

• The UK previously raised its threat level to ‘severe’ in November 2020 after a series of attacks in Europe. 
• UK terror threat level was downgraded to ‘substantial’ in February following a ‘significant reduction’ in incidents.
• Current escalation in alertness rating was due to the bomb plot being the second incident in a month.

After Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired an emergency Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR) brainstorm meeting, the British government announced that the country’s terror threat level designation has been raised to ‘severe.’

UK government’s decision to raise the terror threat level was in response to Sunday’s Liverpool car bombing, which police have declared a terror attack.

‘Severe’ terror threat level means that another attack is viewed as ‘highly likely.’

The decision, which was confirmed by Ministarka unutrašnjih poslova Priti Patel, was taken the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) – a group of counter-terrorist experts from law enforcement bodies and security agencies which is based at MI5’s London headquarters.

Patel said the escalation in alertness rating was due to the bomb plot being the “second incident in a month.” She was likely referring to the knife-killing of Tory MP David Amess last month, which was previously designated a terror attack by police.

“There is a live investigation taking place right now; they will need the time, the space, to do the work that they are doing in terms of investigating the incident,” Patel said, adding that the government is “making sure that we are taking all the necessary steps required.”

The UK previously raised its threat level to ‘severe’ in November 2020 after a series of attacks in Europe. It was downgraded to ‘substantial’ in February following a ‘significant reduction’ in incidents. The ‘severe’ level is the second-highest alertness rating, with only ‘critical’ ranked above it.

The police have made four arrests related to Sunday’s blast, during which a taxi passenger detonated an improvised explosive device outside Liverpul Women’s Hospital. The bomber was the only fatality.