November 16, 2021 12.59 pm This story is over 42 months old

Lincolnshire Police “remain alert” as UK National Threat Level increased

“We must not be complacent,” police said
Lincolnshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin.

Lincolnshire Police’s Deputy Chief Constable said the force must “remain alert and not alarmed” after the decision was taken to raise the UK National Threat Level to ‘severe’.

The decision by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre was taken following terrorism incidents in recent weeks, including a bomb exploding outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday, and the death of Conservative MP Sir David Amess.

The UK terror threat level was raised from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’ on Monday, meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’ in the UK. However, on behalf of Counter Terrorism Policing Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said that the “change is a precautionary measure and not based on any specific threat.”

This comes after two incidents within a month of each other. On Remembrance Sunday, taxi driver David Perry was injured when a homemade bomb exploded shortly after he pulled up outside the hospital. Counter Terrorism Detectives leading the investigation confirmed on Monday that 32-year-old Emad Al Swealmeen is believed to be the deceased from the terrorist incident.

MP Sir David Amess died in October after being stabbed multiple times. Matt Jukes, Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, said last month that a 25-year-old man from London had been charged with murder and the preparation of terrorist acts contract to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act.

Lincolnshire Police’s Deputy Chief Constable Jason Harwin said: “It is vital that we remain alert and not alarmed as this National Threat Level is raised. The recent events that have taken place is a stark reminder that we must not be complacent, we must remain vigilant.

“We encourage the public to continue to report suspicious activity and urge anyone with information to come forward. We are monitoring the situation closely and will respond appropriately should any specific threat be identified.”

Prior to this week, the UK’s terror threat level was last at ‘severe’ in November 2020 before being lowered to ‘substantial’ in February this year.