UK raises terrorism threat level to 'severe' after attacks in France and Austria

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has appealed to the public to remain vigilant as the country's terror alert was raised to "severe".

A tribute to London Bridge terror victims, one year on

People lay placards beside flowers after a minute's silence on London Bridge to mark the one year anniversary of the attack in 2018. Source: AAP

The United Kingdom has raised its terror threat level from "substantial" to "severe" following recent attacks in France and Austria.

"This is a precautionary measure and is not based on any specific threat," Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote in a tweet, appealing to the public to remain vigilant.
The level, assessed by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, is the fourth-highest on a scale of five and means that terrorist attacks in Britain are considered "highly likely".

The change followed an attack in the Austrian capital Vienna on Monday night, in which a heavily armed man randomly shot at crowds and at people sitting in restaurants and bars.

He killed four people and injured several others before being shot dead himself.
The Austrian government has described the incident as a terrorist attack.

France has also had a number of deadly attacks in recent weeks, including a knife attack in a church in Nice in which three people were killed.

The level was briefly raised on two occasions to "critical", the maximum level indicating an attack is "highly likely in the near future", in May and September 2017.

The move was in response to conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Manchester and London also both suffered deadly Islamist militant attacks that year.

It was also changed to "critical" in August 2006 after the security services said they had foiled a plot to blow up flights between Britain and the United States.


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Source: AAP, SBS


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