“The risks at stake are profound and represent a fundamental threat to our sovereignty. They should be a concern to all those who share democratic values.”

Alex Younger – MI6 Head

MI6 Director Alex Younger

Alex Younger, the new head of MI6 , says that the scale of the terrorism threat to the UK is unprecedented. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

UK intelligence and security services had disrupted 12 terrorist plots since June 2013.

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Younger’s speech is very unusual. First “C” rarely speaks in public. Second, it was the first time an MI6 chief has made a speech at the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the official name for MI6, at Vauxhall Cross in central London.

According to Younger, the threats come mostly from Iraq and Syria.

“The risks at stake are profound and represent a fundamental threat to our sovereignty. They should be a concern to all those who share democratic values.”

Younger stated that MI5 and the police are running hundreds of investigations.

“As I speak, the highly organised external attack-planning structures within Daesh [the preferred government name for Islamic State], even as they face military threat, are plotting ways to project violence against the UK and our allies.”

“The events unfolding in Syria created as many, if not more, problems.”

In recent weeks, Gilles de Kerkhove (EU Counter-Terrorism) and EUROPOL have issued similar warnings.

“We have to be vigilant, since the threat posed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) and returning foreign fighters is likely to persist in the coming years. These people are trained to use explosives and firearms and they have been indoctrinated by the jihadist ideology,” de Kerkhove said.

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There are five threat levels for international terrorism in the UK: low, moderate, substantial, severe and critical. The level is set by MI5’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.

Currently it is rated “severe” which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely.

REFERENCES

Terrorism most immediate threat to UK, says MI6 — BBC News

Hostile states pose ‘fundamental threat’ to Europe, says MI6 chief — The Guardian

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MI6 Alex Younger: “Terrorism Threat to the UK is Unprecedented.”