The UK threat level has been raised to CRITICAL. This allows us to confirm that this image will always reflect the current level, so – as long as the Intelligence Community don’t mind us using the image, we can bung it in our sidebars and ensure we always know how likely we are to be deadened.
This means, by the way, that
Critical – an attack is expected imminently
So don’t go to work, don’t go to the shops. Duck and cover.
The reason the terror level threat level has gone up is that a plot to blow up planes has been foiled. This is excellent news and once again shows that our security services are capable of dealing with terrorist threats under existing laws.
As a result of this, hand luggage is being banned from flights and the threat level has been raised. But doesn’t that imply that the plot wasn’t foiled? (Indeed, the text of the article uses the word “disrupted” which implies something different.) Presumably this plot was only discovered overnight – or the information changed – and was immediately acted on – otherwise, why was the threat level only raised once arrests had been made?
Now see I’d have called it “Hyperalert” if I was in charge, and I’d ensure that a high-pitch siren blaired throughout the night over Britain’s cities to remind people of the threat. But will they listen to me? Will they hell.
We had an alarm go off at 2am anyway. Were you round our way, Paul?
And good point about the ‘foiled’ thing, Will. I’d have thought there was a much greater risk of psychotic incidents on a plane if you had to go an eight-hour transatlantic flight without being permitted a pen or a book, myself. I know it’d drive me round the twist.