According to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met Police Commissioner, the UK is under ‘severe’ threat of a terrorist attack.
After a string of ISIS related incidents across Europe that saw dozens dead in France and Germany, including the beheading of a priest, fears have risen that the UK may be targeted next.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Hogan-Howe said “I feel and understand that fear and as the police officer in charge of preventing such an attack know that you want me to reassure you. I am afraid I cannot do that entirely.”
He adds that for the past two years, the UK has been under ‘severe’ threat. “It means an attack is highly likely – you could say it is a case of when, not if.”
Earlier this year, Hogan-Howe made the ‘vital’ decision to add 600 extra armed officers to the police force and doubled the amount of patrols. In the last 12 months, the Met is believed to have prevented up to eight attempted terror attacks, the majority being in London.
The Commissioner revealed one UK-based terrorist had “advanced plans to carry out a Lee Rigby-style attack on US soldiers, using a car and knives to murder the servicemen and potentially detonate a bomb as part of the murderous plot.”
He added that one of the reasons the UK has withstood terror attacks is due to the healthy relationship between civilians and the police.
