MI5 chief warns of yearly terrorist threats to the UK public

The head of MI5 said that Britain will face at least one attempted major terror attack every year for the next few years.

14:20 09 October 2013

Andrew Parker, the new head of Britain’s counter-intelligence agency, has warned the public about attempted major terrorist attacks against the UK.

In his first speech since taking over the security service in April, he told a private audience at the Royal United Services Institute: "Since 2000, we have seen serious attempts at major acts of terrorism in this country typically once or twice a year.

"That feels to me, for the moment, unlikely to change."

He explained that the reason is the growing number of Britons going to Syria to try to become radicalized jihadists.

Parker explained: "A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the UK who have travelled to fight there or who aspire to do so.

"Al Nusrah and other extremist Sunni groups there aligned with al Qaeda aspire to attack Western countries."

However, he left the public with a promise: "We will continue to work with the police to put these thugs and killers in front of the courts."