Terrorism: UK Must Plan For Major Attack

The emergency services must be better prepared to tackle a lone gunman or Mumbai-style attack on the streets of Britain, the Government has warned.

Fast-moving attacks, such as those seen in Norway and Toulouse, are among the major scenarios the UK must be prepared for, Security Minister James Brokenshire said in a speech.

Home Secretary Theresa May has asked the police and other emergency services "to make further improvements to the joint response", he revealed.

Mr Brokenshire said: "A collective failure to act might well manifest in attacks closer to home. Those who want to do us harm are waiting for the moment when we take our eye off the ball.

"The threat remains very real. But that does not mean we cannot stay ahead of it."

Changing tactics have allowed terrorists to "achieve a devastating effect using relatively unsophisticated means", he added.

"The experiences in Toulouse and in Norway demonstrate the impact that a lone individual can have if sufficiently motivated, while the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai were characterised by an ongoing firearms and explosives attack, and by hostage-taking.

"So we are improving the way the emergency services work together in response to a major incident."

Lone individuals sympathetic to al Qaeda's cause were believed to be one of the major concerns being considered by the security services and police in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

Mohamed Merah, who said he had links with al Qaeda, killed seven people in France's worst terror attacks in years near Toulouse in March, while Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Norway, killing 69 people in July last year.

And in 2008, 166 people were killed in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Giving a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) in central London, Mr Brokenshire will go on: "The overall aim is to ensure that the blue light services are trained and exercised to work together as effectively as possible in response to a major incident, including fast-moving terrorist scenarios, so that as many lives as possible can be saved."

Mr Brokenshire also warned that northern Mali is "at risk" of joining Somalia, Afghanistan and Yemen on a list of places which "have all seen terrorism flourish in the absence of effective governance".

"This represents a grave threat to the people of Mali," he said.

"But it also increases the threat to UK interests in the region and, potentially, the threat to us and our neighbours in Europe.

"With al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb growing in ability and ambition, a collective failure to act might well manifest in attacks closer to home."

Mohamed Merah, who said he had links with al Qaida, killed seven people in France's worst terror attacks in years near Toulouse in March, while Anders Breivik went on the rampage in Norway, killing 69 people in July last year.

In 2008, 166 people were killed in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Marie Staunton, chief executive of international children's charity Plan UK, said: "The Malian crisis is a global threat which could, unfortunately, persistfor years.

"If this situation is allowed to stand, the area will become a hub for sponsoring terrorism, regionally and globally. The world must not stand by while this happens."