Threat level from international terrorism

raised: PM press statement

Good afternoon. Earlier today the Home Secretary confirmed that the Joint Terrorism
Analysis Centre has increased the threat level in the United Kingdom from substantial to
severe. This is the first time in 3 years that the threat to our country has been at this level.

Find out more about terrorism threat levels and what they mean.

My first priority as Prime Minister is to make sure we do everything possible to keep our people
safe. Today I want to set out the scale and nature of the threat we face and the comprehensive
approach that we are taking to combat it. Weve all been shocked and sickened by the barbaric
murder of American journalist James Foley and by the voice of what increasingly seems to have
been a British terrorist recorded on that video.

It was clear evidence not that any more was needed that this is not some foreign conflict
thousands of miles from home that we can hope to ignore. The ambition to create an extremist
caliphate in the heart of Iraq and Syria is a threat to our own security here in the UK. And that is
in addition to the many other al Qaeda inspired terrorist groups that exist in that region.

The first ISIL inspired terrorist acts on the continent of Europe have already taken place. We now
believe that at least 500 people have travelled from Britain to fight in Syria, and potentially Iraq.
Lets be clear about the source of the threat that we face. The terrorist threat was not created by
the Iraq war 10 years ago. It existed even before the horrific attacks on 9/11, themselves some
time before the Iraq war. This threat cannot be solved simply by dealing with the perceived
grievances over Western foreign policy. Nor can it be dealt with by addressing poverty,
dictatorship or instability in the region, as important as these things are.

The root cause of this threat to our security is quite clear. It is a poisonous ideology of Islamist
extremism that is condemned by all faiths and by all faith leaders. It believes in using the most
brutal forms of terrorism to force people to accept a warped world view and to live in an almost
medieval state. A state in which its own citizens would suffer unimaginable brutality, including
barbaric beheadings of those who refuse to convert to their warped version of Islam; the
enslavement and raping of women; and the widespread slaughter of Muslims by fellow Muslims.
And, of course, the exporting of terrorism abroad.

So this is about a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam
on the other. It is absolutely vital that we make this distinction between religion and political
ideology. Islam is a religion observed peacefully and devoutly by over 1 billion people. It is a
source of spiritual guidance which daily inspires millions to countless acts of kindness.
Islamist extremism is a poisonous political ideology supported by a minority. These extremists
often funded by fanatics living comfortably far away from the battlefields pervert the Islamic
faith as a way of justifying their warped and barbaric ideology.

Now this is not a new problem: we have seen this extremism before here in our own country. We
saw it with the sickening murder of Lee Rigby and we saw it too with the home grown 7/7
bombers who blew up tube trains and buses. The links between what happens overseas and what
happens here has also always been there. Many of those who sought to do us harm in the past
have been foreign nationals living in Britain or even British citizens who have returned from
terrorist training camps in Pakistan or elsewhere around the world.

But what were facing in Iraq now with ISIL is a greater and deeper threat to our security than we
have known before. In Afghanistan, the Taliban were prepared to play host to al Qaeda, a terrorist
organisation. With ISIL, we are facing a terrorist organisation not being hosted in a country but
actually seeking to establish and then violently expand its own terrorist state. And with designs
on expanding to Jordan and Lebanon, right up to the Turkish border, we could be facing a
terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member.

Now, we cannot appease this ideology. We have to confront it at home and abroad. To do this we
need a tough, intelligent, patient and comprehensive approach to defeat the terrorist threat at its
source. Tough, in that we need a firm security response whether that is action to go after the
terrorists, international cooperation on intelligence and counter terrorism or uncompromising
measures against terrorists here at home.

But it also must be an intelligent, political response. We must use all resources we have at our
disposal aid, diplomacy, political influence, and our military. Learning the lessons from the past
doesnt mean that there isnt a place for our military; the military were vital in driving Al Qaeda
from Afghanistan, and we support the US air strikes against ISIL in Iraq. The key point is that
military force is just one element of what we can do. And we need a much wider approach,
working with neighbours in the region, and addressing not just security but politics too.

We know that terrorist organisations thrive where there is political instability and weak or
dysfunctional political institutions. So we must support the building blocks of democracy, the rule
of law, the independence of the judiciary, the rights of minorities, free media, free association, a
proper place in society for the army, and we must show perseverance. Not just because these
building blocks take time to put in place, but because we are in the middle of a generational
struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology that I believe well be fighting for years and
probably decades.

We will always take whatever action is necessary to keep the British people safe here at home.
Britain has some of the finest and most effective security and intelligence services anywhere in
the world. We will always act with urgency where needed, as we did with the emergency data
retention legislation which is already yielding results. And weve already taken a whole range of
measures to keep our people safe. We are stopping suspects from travelling by seizing passports.
Were barring foreign nationals from re entering the UK. Were depriving people of citizenship
and we are legislating so we can prosecute people for all terrorist activity, even where that
activity takes place overseas.
Weve also stepped up our operational response. Since last year weve seen a fivefold increase in
Syria related arrests. Weve seen port stops and cash seizures grow by over 50%. Weve taken
down 28,000 pieces of extremist material off the internet this year alone, including 46 ISIL
related videos. We made clear that those who carry ISIL flags or seek to recruit to ISIL will be
arrested and the material seized. And weve seen a 58% increase in referrals to our de
radicalisation programme, called the Channel Project.

Now people are rightly concerned about so called foreign fighters who travel from Britain to
Syria and Iraq, taken part in terrorist acts and now come back to threaten our security here at
home. And the scale of this threat is growing. I said very clearly last week that there will be no
knee jerk reactions. We will respond calmly and with purpose. And well do so driven by the
evidence and the importance of maintaining the liberty that is the hallmark of the society that we
defend. But we have to listen carefully to the security and intelligence officers who do so much
every day to keep us safe.

I chaired a meeting a week ago with our intelligence and security services and we agreed that the
answer to this threat was not to dream up some sweeping new power that would be ineffective in
practice. But it is becoming clear that there are some gaps in our armoury, and we need to
strengthen them. We need to do more to stop people travelling, to stop those who do go from
returning, and to deal decisively with those who are already here. Ill be making a statement in
the House of Commons on Monday. This will include further steps to stop people travelling with
new legislation that will make it easier to take peoples passports away.

Now, as well as being tough, patient and intelligent, we also need to take a comprehensive
approach. Dealing with this threat is not just about new powers. It is about how we combat
extremism in all its forms. We need to tackle that ideology of Islamist extremism head on at root
before it takes the form of violence and terror. That means challenging the thinking of extremist
ideologues, identifying the groups in this country that push an extremist agenda, and countering
them by empowering the overwhelming majority who believe in British values of democracy, the
rule of law and respect for minorities.

That is why as Prime Minister I have driven a new approach to tackling radicalisation and
counter extremism in Britain, focusing on all types of extremism, not just violent extremism. I set
this out in my Munich speech in 2011 and Ive driven this forward through my extremism task
force. This has included stopping the funding of organisations that promote extremism, banning
hate preachers and ensuring that every part of government and the state from schools and
universities to prisons are all focused on beating the scourge of extremism. And this task force
will continue to meet regularly.

Britain is an open, tolerant and free nation. We are a country that backs people in every
community, who want to work hard, make a contribution and build a life for themselves and their
families. But we cannot stand by and allow our openness to be confused with a tolerance of
extremism, or one that encourages different cultures to live separate lives and allows people to
behave in ways that run completely counter to our values. Adhering to British values is not an
option or a choice; it is a duty for those who live in these islands. And in the end it is only by
standing up for these values that will defeat the extremism, protect our way of life and keep all
our people safe.
Thank you.

The threat-levels
There are five levels of threat:

Critical - an attack is expected imminently

Severe - an attack is highly likely

Substantial - an attack is a strong possibility

Moderate - an attack is possible but not likely

Low - an attack is unlikely

What should you do?

Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism, look out for
suspicious bags on public transport or any other potential signs of terrorist activity. But they
should not let the fear of terrorism stop them from going about their day-to-day life as normal.
The risk of being caught up in a terrorist attack is very low.