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As tensions rise across the globe, security services in the UK are on high alert over the threat of potential terror attacks, particularly as the Christmas season fast approaches
Russian and Iranian operatives remain a threat on British soil as war rages on in the Middle East and Ukraine.
And officials continue to be on high alert over the threat from Islamist extremist attacks. Today, amid the heightened tension, bomb disposal officers carried out a controlled detonation on a suspicious package outside the US Embassy in London.
And travellers at Gatwick Airport faced chaos after fleeing the South Terminal as the bomb squad swooped because of a suspicious package found in an item of luggage. Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, says intelligence services face various threats over the Christmas period.
He added it includes extremists wanting to target Christmas markets. Mr Phillips said: “There are a myriad of threats. Tensions are high with events in the Middle East and Russia.
“States like Iran won’t necessarily drop bombs, but they’ll have agents already in this country wanting to do their bidding. State-sponsored terrorism may well have an uptick in the next few months. Extremist individuals could also strike. Religious holidays are always a target for people wanting to do us harm. The security services will be on heightened alert.”
The area around the US Embassy in Nine Elms, South London, was placed into lockdown during the scare yesterday. Scotland Yard bosses later said they believed it was a hoax device, adding a probe was under way.
Restaurants and shops near the embassy say they lost business due to the area being cordoned off. A cafe worker, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said: “We just heard that we needed to stay in here.
“We didn’t have to close but we did lose quite a lot of customers as they couldn’t get here. We have to be quite careful working this close to the embassy but they are very supportive.”
En Arnold, 25, who works in Sendero Coffee, said she always suspected it was a hoax. She added: “They say it was a false bomb threat. People had to come in here to sit for a while, and they blocked off quite a bit of the area.
“I felt chilled. If I die then I die. The police have guns so we should be OK. There are fake bomb threats all the time in London. They wouldn’t have been attacking a random cafe worker.”
Gatwick Airport’s entire South Terminal was evacuated as bomb squad officers probed a suspected prohibited item found in luggage. Passengers were ordered to get out and stay far away. Officers scrambled to the terminal at 8.20am. Explosive ordnance disposal police were deployed and roads were closed around the terminal.
Witnesses said there were thousands of people waiting in the streets and car parks. Bosses at the airport near Crawley, West Sussex, said the terminal was evacuated as a precaution.
Chiefs added this afternoon: “The security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police. The terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly. We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while this was resolved. Safety and security is always our top priority.”
It added: “There are some delays and cancellations. Passengers should contact their airline for any updates on flights. The current security threat level in the UK is “substantial”, which means an attack is classed as being likely.
Last month the head of MI5, director general Ken McCallum, warned that Russia was on a mission to create mayhem on British soil. He also revealed that 20 Iran-backed assassination plots have been stopped since 2022 in Britain.
Mr McCallum warned the security service has “one hell of a job on its hands”, having foiled 43 late-stage terror plots since 2017, averting mass murder with just days to spare. He said the UK’s support of Ukraine means we “loom large in the fevered imagination of Vladimir Putin ’s regime”.
He claimed Russian military intelligence “is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British… streets”. He added: “We’ve seen arson, sabotage and more – dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.”
He said MI5 would also give its “fullest attention” to a rise in Iranian state aggression in the UK. Iran and Russia are understood to be paying third-party agents to do their dirty work – from low-level criminals to international drug traffickers. Mr McCallum also warned of a resurgent threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda, as they have “resumed efforts to export terrorism”.
