Islamic State and Al-Qaeda plotting terror attacks in UK, government report to warn
From the Telegraph
Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are both plotting terror attacks in the UK, the Government is set to warn on Monday.
In an update to Contest, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, the Home Secretary will describe the threat of Islamist terrorism as the “most severe” in the UK, accounting for three quarters of Mi5’s time, according to The Times.
Suella Braverman will reportedly warn that while “Islamist terrorism remains the predominant threat, terrorism is becoming increasingly unpredictable, making cases harder to detect and investigate”.
She will also say that countries including Russia are an increasing threat, and that they are using terrorism to sow division in the UK.
Extremist activity is becoming more difficult to track and investigate, she is expected to say, with the inspiration for attacks now often coming online.
A Whitehall source told The Times: “This is the first [report] of its kind for five years and is a comprehensive update for the UK’s response to terrorism. It’s about how the fragmentation of Islamic State and al-Qaeda is now posing a very different threat to our people, while state actors like Russia and Iran will increasingly try to capitalise on terrorism here in the UK.