Britain says faces "severe" terrorist threat

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From Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain launched a new security alert system on Tuesday, ranking the terrorist threat to the country as "severe" and saying an attack was highly likely.

It was the first time the government had published such information. Until now, it has argued that doing so would cause unnecessary alarm.

But faced with growing criticism that it was failing to spell out the threat from groups like al Qaeda, the government has decided to follow the lead of other countries and introduce a graded alert system.


It has five levels ranging from "low" (attack unlikely) to "critical" (attack expected imminently), and is similar to the one used in the United States for the past four years, although, unlike the U.S. model, it is not color-coded.

"Severe" is the second highest level.

The threat level was posted on a new Web site -- http://www.intelligence.gov.uk -- and on the Home Office (interior ministry) and security service sites.

Analysts say the decision to publish is part of a concerted effort -- not only by the government but also by the two security services MI5 and MI6 -- to be seen as more accountable.

"I don't think it'll have a massive impact on the public but I do think it might help government, the security services and the police have a clearer idea of where they all stand in their assessment of the threat faced," said Chris Pope, intelligence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

[azsnowman]

Well.....listening and watching the news this morning, it's come true