The UK Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has ordered the country’s terrorism threat level changed from severe to the highest ‘critical’ band, after conceding that further terrorist attacks ‘may be imminent’.

 

This follows last Monday night’s concert suicide bombing in Manchester which has so far claimed 22 lives and injured another 59 – with many hospitalised casualties still fighting for their lives.

 

The change in the threat level has led to ‘Operation Temperer’ being sanctioned by the Secretary of State to immediately allow the deployment of hundreds of military personnel to support police in key sensitive locations. These will include airports, train stations, tourist locations, concerts, sports matches and at many other functions and locations.

 

This also follows a second meeting of the government’s ultra-high security COBR committee, after which UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for calm and understanding.

 

CONCERNS THAT OTHER TERRORISTS MAY STILL BE ACTIVE

In a statement last night she said: “I have just chaired another meeting of COBR, where we again discussed the callous and cowardly terrorist attack in Manchester last night, and the operational response from the security service, the police and other emergency services.

 

“It remains the case that, other than the terrorist himself, 22 people were killed in the attack. Fifty-nine people remain injured, and many of them have life-threatening conditions.

 

“As Greater Manchester Police confirmed earlier today, the perpetrator was Salman Ramadan Abedi, a 22-year-old who was born and brought up in Britain.

 

“And as the emergency services have confirmed throughout the day, his victims were innocent children, young people and their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”

 

BRAVERY OF MANCHESTER PEOPLE

Paying tribute to the bravery of the people of Manchester and the professionalism of the emergency services, May added that the decision to ramp up security alert status to its highest level obviously takes into account the very real possibility that there may well be a wider group of individuals who are still actively free who are linked to this attack.

 

Concluding her statement, she said: “We will take every measure available to us and provide every additional resource we can to the police and the security services as they work to protect the public.

 

FEARS THAT UK TOURISM COULD BE HIT AS PARIS WAS…

“And while we mourn the victims of last night’s appalling attack, we stand defiant. The spirit of Manchester – and the spirit of Britain – is far mightier than the sick plots of depraved terrorists. That is why the terrorists will never win, and we will prevail.”

 

Needless to say, there are now fears that this terrible incident could scare tourists away from the UK.

 

This follows in the wake of the deadly 2015 Paris terror attacks where it took more than a year for numbers to recover – followed later by similar negative tourism arrivals numbers in Belgium after the attacks on Brussels Airport and a metro station in March 2016.