Britain's domestic intelligence chief warned during a rare public speech on Tuesday, 17 October, that the terrorist threat the country faces has accelerated at an alarming pace and is worse now than at any time in his 34-year career.
MI5 Director General Andrew Parker said his agency, also known as the Security Service, is constantly expanding and upgrading its capability, but cannot realistically prevent all attacks targeting civilians.
In 2017, with all that has happened and much that has not, it is clear that we are contending with an intense UK terrorist threat from Islamist extremists. That threat is multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly, and operating at a scale and pace we’ve not seen before.Parker to journalists in London
He noted a “dramatic upshift” in the threat this year, with successful attacks in London and Manchester that killed 36 people combined.
“Twenty attacks in the UK have been foiled over the past four years,” Parker said.
Many more will have been prevented by the early interventions we and the police make. There have been a record number of terrorism-related arrests: 379 in the year to June.
He said continental Europe has faced a similar surge, particularly in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain.
“The scale at which we are operating is greater than ever before,” he said.
Parker said MI5 has more than 500 live investigations involving roughly 3,000 people known to be involved in extremist activities.
In addition, he said, more than 20,000 individuals have been scrutinised in the past for possible terror ties and there are undoubtedly “violent extremists” who have thus far not been detected by the Security Service.
The risk is further heightened by the possible return to Britain of citizens who joined the ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Parker said.
He said MI5 is well-equipped to cope with the deepening threat, with its ranks set to grow from 4,000 to 5,000 over the next few years.
Parker cautioned, however, that it is impossible to stop every attack.
“Attacks will occur sometimes because this is a free society, a liberal democracy, and we do not monitor everybody all the time,” he said. “Nor would we want to live in a country that was like that.”
(The article has been edited for length)
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)