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UK faces 'severe' risk of attack
01/08/2006 10:59 - (SA)
David Stringer
London - Britain faces a severe risk of another terrorist attack, the government said on Tuesday as it began operation of the country's first public terror alert system.
The threat rating, based on a US department of homeland security model, was made public for the first time on Tuesday, on the websites of Britain's Home Office and MI5 - the British domestic spy agency.
The system ranks threats as low, moderate, substantial, severe or critical and has been introduced following criticism of the public's access to accurate information before the attacks on London's transport system in July 2005, in which 52 commuters and four suicide bombers died.
Previous system too complicated
British home secretary John Reid ordered the changes to simplify the previous seven tier system, which was deemed too complicated - and was not available to the public.
That system was strongly criticised by parliament's intelligence and security committee in a report issued in May, which found that Britain's threat level had been reduced from "severe general" to "substantial" immediately before last year's London attacks.
"We welcome this new public system of alert and threat levels. We have been calling for this for some time," said lawmaker David Davis, spokesperson on home affairs for the opposition Conservative party.
The home office said that under the new system, a "critical" rating would indicate there was strong intelligence of an expected imminent attack.
A "severe" rating indicates that current intelligence suggests an attack is highly likely, it said.
- AP
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