Irish terror threat level is raised on mainland

AN ATTACK on the British mainland by Irish republican terrorists has become a ‘strong possibility’, Theresa May warned yesterday.

The risk to England, Scotland and Wales from extremists opposed to the peace process has gone from ‘moderate’ to ‘substantial’ – the third of five threat levels, the Home Secretary said.

The move, recommended by MI5, ‘ reflects the continuing threat from dissident activity’.

Security has been stepped up to avert an attack.

At Easter, the New IRA – which murdered prison officer Adrian Ismay in east Belfast in March, threatened to ‘take the war to the age-old enemy of our nation’.

The security services are understood to be concerned about the increasing capabilities of dissident groups intent on one- off strikes in Britain.

This has coincided with the discovery of large hauls of weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles, armour-piercing mortar bombs and the explosive Semtex in Northern Ireland and the Repub-

‘Command little support’

lic. Terror experts warn that Irish terrorists are sufficiently armed to pose an ‘enduring threat’ and still ‘aspire’ to target the UK.

Announcing the heightened threat level in the Commons, Mrs May said: ‘As a result of this change, we are working closely with the police and other relevant authorities to ensure appropriate security measures are in place.’

But she said dissident republicans ‘commanded little support’, and that the ‘vast majority’ of people wanted peace.

The focus of violent activity continued to be Northern Ireland, where dissidents ‘target police and prison officers’, she said.

The last Northern Ireland-related attack on mainland Britain was in November 2001 when a car bomb in Birmingham city centre injured several police officers.

The threat level for Northern Ireland terrorism in Great Britain was raised from ‘moderate’ to ‘substantial’ in 2010, before going back to ‘moderate’ in 2012.

The general threat level to the UK from all forms of terrorism, including Islamist fanatics, is already at ‘severe’, meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’.