Britain raises terror threat level to 'severe'

English authorities are concerned about the number of its citizens who may have left to fight with Islamic militants in the Middle East and could return to launch terrorist attacks.

|
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/File
In this 2006 file photo, a view from Nelson's Column shows a portion of central London's skyline.

Britain raised the terror threat level from substantial to severe Friday, meaning that a terrorist attack is considered highly likely.

Home Secretary Theresa Mays said the decision to raise the threat level was related to developments in Iraq and Syria, but that there was no information to suggest an attack was imminent. Some of the plots are likely to involve fighters who have traveled from Britain and Europe to take part in fighting in the Middle East.

"We face a real and serious threat in the UK from international terrorism," she said. "I would urge the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police."

May says the decision by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center is made on the basis of intelligence and is independent of government. "Severe" is the second-highest of five levels.

British police have appealed to the public to help identify aspiring terrorists after the murder of an American journalist focused attention on extremism in the UK.

The involvement of a person of British nationality in James Foley's murder underscored the need to identify those who might travel abroad to fight or are at risk of being radicalized.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Britain raises terror threat level to 'severe'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0829/Britain-raises-terror-threat-level-to-severe
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe