Operation Temperer in full force as military personnel take to the streets after British Prime Minister raises threat condition to highest level.
Multiple news sources to include CNBC report that the United Kingdom (U.K.) has raised it’s terror level from severe “to the country’s highest level, critical, in the wake of Monday’s Manchester bombing.”
The Guardian reports that: “The UK alert level has been at critical twice before. The first was in 2006 following the exposure of a plot to blow up planes flying across the Atlantic, while the second came the following year in response to a plot targeting a London nightclub.”
In a prepared statement, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May offered some background on the alleged perpetrator, “Salman Ramadan Abedi, who was born and brought up in Britain.”
After praising the “professionalism of the emergency services and the bravery of the people in Manchester,” May warned that the perpetrator of that attack could be part of a “wider group of individuals.”
“The work undertaken throughout the day has revealed that it is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack. This morning I said that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the independent organisation responsible for setting the threat level on the basis of the intelligence available, was keeping the threat level under constant review. It has now concluded, on the basis of today’s investigations, that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical. This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent.”
The Prime Minister added that Operation Temperer – allowing military personnel to take to the streets – was now in force:
“This means that armed police officers responsible for duties such as guarding key sites will be replaced by members of the armed forces, which will allow the police to significantly increase the number of armed officers on patrol in key locations. You might also see military personnel deployed at certain events such as concerts and sports matches, helping the police to keep the public safe.”
The Guardian’s home affairs editor, Alan Travis, later tweeted that “The last two occasions the threat level was raised to Critical the alert lasted no more than a few days.”
The last two occasions the threat level was raised to Critical the alert lasted no more than a few days: pic.twitter.com/GpzWJF4jMX
— Alan Travis (@alantravis40) May 23, 2017
Vikram Dodd of the Guardian added that Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre sits within MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency; and their official website confirms that the increase from Severe to Critical means that there is concern an attack is imminent.
What the threat levels mean
Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack.
- LOW means an attack is unlikely.
- MODERATE means an attack is possible, but not likely
- SUBSTANTIAL means an attack is a strong possibility
- SEVERE means an attack is highly likely
- CRITICAL means an attack is expected imminently
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