Home  »  General  »  Britain Hits The Panic Button

Britain Hits The Panic Button



Jan 22, 2010 5 Comments ›› Erik Wong

terror-threat

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain raised its international terrorism threat level to ‘severe’ — its second highest level of terror alert — from ‘substantial’ on Friday, Home Secretary (interior minister) Alan Johnson said.

“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Center has today raised the threat to the UK from international terrorism from substantial to severe. This means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent,” he said in a statement.

“JTAC keeps the threat level under constant review and makes its judgments based on a broad range of factors, including the intent and capabilities of international terrorist groups in the UK and overseas,” the statement said.

Britain, a close U.S. ally, hosts an international conference on Afghanistan on January 28 that London says may set a timetable for transferring responsibility for some areas to Afghan control.

Those present will include Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s other main partners.

The threat level was last changed on July 20, 2009 when it was lowered to substantial from severe. It had been lowered to severe on July 4, 2007 from critical, the highest level, which had been declared on June 30, 2007.

YEMEN MEETING IN LONDON

Talks on Afghanistan will be preceded by a January 27 meeting on Yemen, which declared war on al Qaeda last week under pressure for a crackdown on the global militant group after its Yemen-based wing said it was behind an attempt on December 25 to blow up a U.S. passenger jet.

The West and neighboring Saudi Arabia fear Yemen could become a failed state, allowing al Qaeda to use the country as a launchpad for further international attacks.

The meeting brings together foreign ministers of Yemen’s main development partners.

A Home Office advisory said the threat level meant people should remain on alert for danger, including looking for suspicious bags on public transport.

But it added that they should go ahead with life as normal as the risk of being caught up in an attack was very low.

Commenting on the elevated threat in Britain, U.S. Homeland Security Department Matt Chandler said:

“The UK is raising their measures to effectively where we are with the airport security measures that we have taken and announced over the last few weeks.

“We have enhanced our security measures and communicated specific information to industry, law enforcement and the American people.”


  • Reloader449

    “The West and neighboring Saudi Arabia fear Yemen could become a failed state, allowing al Qaeda to use the country as a launchpad for further international attacks.”

    Interesting …

    Spengler at Asia Times recently wrote a column asking, “Is America a failed state?”

    So “failed states” are those most likely to be taken over by terrorists and used to train terrorists and launch terrorist attacks against others?

    Ah hah.

  • thrasymakhos

    “The Joint Terrorism Analysis Center has today raised the threat to the UK from international terrorism from substantial to severe. This means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent…But it added that they should go ahead with life as normal as the risk of being caught up in an attack was very low.” :shock: WTH!
    They… :shock: …we are doomed.

  • MohammedSucksHogCock

    Reminds me of an old joke:

    Q: What did Abraham Lincoln say when he woke up with a splitting hangover?

    A: I freed the WHAT?!

    Same situation with the UK. They seem to have awoken from a pronounced drunken stupor (began drinking when Enoch Powell told them their immigration policy was drafted by the Arab League) to find themselves living in a Muslim country.

    Those kooky Brits. When will they fucking learn?

  • Post Modern Thor

    Is Michael Savage planning to jet over to Great Britian? :twisted: They ban Savage from setting foot onto their soil for things he didn’t even say, and yet they roll out the red carpet and bend over for all the demands and acts of murder and violence of the muzzies! :evil:

  • Ivan the Kafir

    Brits were a lot better before WWI when they had balls, manners, and dignity.