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A plot to assassinate Pope Francis during a trip to Iraq was stopped following a tip-off from British intelligence, according to his upcoming autobiography. The Pope writes that, after landing in Baghdad in March 2021, he was told an event Read More …
Military chiefs have formed a new domestic counter-terror unit to offset pressure on Britain’s Special Forces. Razor Squadron is the first new special operations team to be established since the creation of the Special Forces Support Group at the start Read More …
The terror threat level in Northern Ireland has increased from “substantial” to “severe” meaning an attack is highly likely, the government has said. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris told the House of Commons the decision was made by MI5, independent Read More …
MI5 chiefs failed to act on two separate warnings that the Manchester Arena attacker was buying bomb-making ingredients in the months before the outrage. The Mail on Sunday has learned that the agency received two ‘pieces of intelligence’ about the purchase Read More …
The security services were guilty of “a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented” the Manchester Arena bombing, according to the chairman of the inquiry into the atrocity. A report published by former high court judge Sir Read More …
A key intelligence database used by police to investigate extremists was “not fit for purpose” when introduced in 2014, a former counter-terrorism officer has told the BBC. The officer, who retired in 2018, says the National Common Intelligence Application (NCIA) Read More …
The terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland has been lowered from “severe” to “substantial” for the first time in 12 years after what the government described as significant continuous progress with peace. The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, announced the Read More …
Afghanistan is again becoming a breeding ground for terror, with British extremists already trying to travel there, the head of MI5 has warned. Ken McCallum said he is concerned about ‘terrorist infrastructure and networks reconstituting’ in the troubled country just Read More …
MI5 had enough intelligence to regard Salman Abedi as a threat to national security and open an investigation before he bombed the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds of others, an inquiry has heard. The Security Service was Read More …
A former CIA officer claims Scotland Yard wanted to allow jihadists plotting Britain’s worst-ever terror attack to board jumbo jets with their bombs. Met chiefs “wanted to play to the very edge” as they built a case against fanatics who Read More …
Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) and the UK Intelligence Services have foiled three terror attacks since the Covid-19 pandemic began, despite lockdowns causing terrorism-related arrests to fall to their lowest level in nearly a decade. The Home Office’s quarterly release of Read More …
The UK has revealed new details about a secret cyber operation against Islamic State that targeted the group’s ability to fly drones, meddled with their phones and hit their propaganda. The mission – told to Sky News by the head Read More …
As expected, Chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to a multi-million pound package in his Spending Review to fund the new London-based centre. And Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said it will significantly improve their ability to “protect the UK and its citizens”. Read More …
Security sources in the UK have warned that the dissident republican grouping known as the New IRA is ‘still dangerous’ despite the efforts of a targeted MI5 operation. In August, eight men and two women were arrested as part of Read More …
A man arrested at Heathrow Airport has become the 10th person detained as part of a major operation against dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) arrested the man on Saturday as part Read More …
A public inquiry will be held to investigate the deaths of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, the Home Office has said. The inquiry will be chaired by Sir John, a retired High Court judge who was nominated Read More …
Radicals linked to Iranian-backed Hezbollah were caught stashing tonnes of explosive materials in north-west London in a secret British bomb factory, M15 and Metropolitan Police officers discovered in 2015, a matter of months after the UK signed up to the Read More …
UK security services have foiled 19 major terror attacks over the past two years, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has revealed. During a speech in which he confirmed plans to look at designating parts of Syria and possibly West Africa as terror Read More …
MI5 is investigating Isis plans to carry out a new wave of attacks across the UK and Europe using ‘crocodile cells’ made up of sleeper operatives. It comes amid revelations that a ringleader of Sri Lanka’s Easter massacre was ‘mentored’ by a group Read More …
As many as 200 British jihadists, who fought alongside Islamic State in Syria, are still believed to be alive and would pose a very significant threat if they ever returned home, according to the UK’s most senior counter-terror police officer. Read More …