The UK’s terror threat level is “absolutely” under review following US and Israel strikes on Iran, the defence secretary told Sky News.
Since the strikes on Saturday, Iran has carried out retaliatory attacks on Israel, US military installations around the Gulf, and Gulf Arab states, including the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, and the global business and tourist hub of Dubai.
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Asked on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if the UK’s terror threat level is now under discussion, John Healey said: “Absolutely.
“When you get a regime like this lashing out in the Middle East indiscriminately and widely, hitting civilian as well as military targets, when you have some of its proxies capable of other actions on their behalf, then of course, our force protection in the region is at its highest.
“Our alert and our vigilance in the UK is also high.”
Mr Healey said Home Secretary Shabanah Mahmood is responsible for making any announcement on the terror threat being raised in the UK.
“But, I’ve got full confidence in our intelligence agencies and our ability to deal with the terrorist threats,” he added.
The current threat of a terror attack in the UK is “substantial”, meaning an attack is likely.
On the terrorism threat rating system, substantial is in the middle, with “severe” and “critical” above it.
It has been at “substantial” since February 2022, when it was downgraded from “severe” (an attack is highly likely), where it was for four months following a suicide attack outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Threat levels are determined by the Joint Terrorism…
