FAQ about the terrorist threat
We are committed to giving you as much information as we can
about terrorism. Our guiding principle is that wherever we can give
you information that will help to protect you, we will. But we also
have a responsibility to protect people working in the intelligence
and security fields, and not to give out information that could
compromise their safety. This includes intelligence, which also
needs to be carefully analysed and assessed, to work out whether it
is reliable or not.
We know you understand that we will not go into the specific
details of contingency plans, because if terrorists knew all the
details of our preparations to respond to attacks, it would
immediately make those plans vulnerable and put us at risk.
We do not believe it is beneficial to the UK to have one
single national system to indicate the current general level of
threat. Rather than one blanket system, we operate specific systems
in various public sectors and key industries, like aviation and the
utilities. This reflects the fact that when alert states need to be
raised in one sector, the threat assessment for other sectors could
stay the same. Our concern is always to minimise the damage to the
economy and our prosperity caused by alarms of this nature.
Information on the general level of threat must be meaningful
if it is to be of practical use. We provide regular assessments of
the threat, set in context, to the public and to Parliament.
Of course, if a warning, or specific advice, is ever necessary
to protect public safety and save lives, we will issue it without
hesitation. We have systems in place to put those immediate
warnings out if necessary.
If you are at the site of an incident, follow the instructions
of the emergency services.
If it is a major incident, and you are not in the immediate
area, our advice is to 'go in, stay in, tune in'. Go home or go
inside some other safe location, stay indoors and tune in to local
radio or television news programmes for advice and information. We
will issue advice immediately, through all forms necessary, if you
need to take specific action.
It is always sensible to have a battery-powered or wind-up
radio in the house to prepare for a range of emergencies, including
power cuts and floods.
No. There is currently no information that would lead us to
advise you to obtain protective clothing, including gas masks, or
to take other special precautions. However, it is always sensible
to be prepared for a range of emergencies, including severe weather
or floods (See 'Sensible precautions - at home'.) We will issue
advice immediately if you need to take specific action.
There is no such thing as a standard chemical or biological
incident, and therefore no such thing as a standard response.
How we respond to a chemical or biological incident -
accidental or otherwise - would depend on a number of factors. The
emergency services are best placed to decide the appropriate
response, taking into account the relevant factors.
To give detailed advice in advance about how to handle every
potential threat would be misleading and unhelpful. Worse, it could
lead to confusion in an actual incident - the advice given for one
type of situation might be wrong in different circumstances.
We, and the emergency services, will provide immediate
information and advice in the event of a discernible threat or a
specific incident.
At the moment, we do not believe that the best way to offer
useful, up-to-date advice is to issue a national leaflet.
No. Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980. Consequently,
smallpox vaccinations are not available on the NHS through family
doctors and General Practitioners do not hold stocks of the
vaccine.
The Department of Health holds a strategic stock for use in an
emergency, which can and will be distributed quickly in the event
of a bio-terrorism incident involving smallpox, but they are not
currently recommending vaccination for the wider UK public. This
decision follows World Health Organisation guidelines about how
best to protect the public. It has not been taken lightly, and the
situation is being kept under very careful review.
The Department of Health have recommended vaccination for a
small number of frontline health-service staff and military
personnel. This is because these frontline staff and personnel
would provide the first response if there were a confirmed,
suspected or threatened release of smallpox.
Contingency plans for dealing with smallpox are detailed in
the draft guidelines on smallpox available on the Department of
Health website.
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London has lived with the threat of terrorism for more than 30
years. Operational responses are well co-ordinated, regularly
practised and continually reviewed.
Since the September 11 attacks in the US, additional measures
have been taken, including specific counter-terrorism funding to
the Metropolitan Police and detailed work by London Underground
with the emergency services and security services to ensure systems
are in place to deter or deal with an attack.
Strategic emergency planning for the Capital is lead by the
London Resilience Forum (
LRF
). The
LRF
considers all aspects of the
threat against the Capital and has contingency plans in place,
which are regularly exercised.
The
LRF
is
chaired by Nick Raynsford as Minister for London Resilience, with
the Mayor as his deputy, and comprises the heads of the emergency
services and London Underground, plus senior-level representatives
from the city's local authorities and utilities, as well as the
Home Office and the Cabinet Office.
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It is their actions that give terrorists away, not their
appearances. While you should stay alert to suspicious behaviour,
it is very important to remember that terrorism affects us all. No
community or religion should be made a scapegoat for the actions of
terrorists. People of many faiths died on September 11, and the
leaders of all faiths condemned the attacks.
We have a clear vision of a multi-cultural Britain - one that
values the contribution made by each of our many ethnic, cultural
and faith communities.
We are determined to see a truly dynamic society, in which
people from different backgrounds can live and work together -
whilst retaining their distinctive identities - in an atmosphere of
mutual respect and understanding.
If you see harassment or discrimination, do not ignore it. It
is everyone's responsibility to prevent it.
In the event of a specific terrorist threat or incident, the local
police will work with schools to ensure they are protected and to
enact their emergency plans as necessary. The action taken would
depend on the incident itself, and would not be very different from
the emergency plans that schools already have for fire evacuations
and bomb threats.
All schools and Local Education Authorities in England have
been made aware that they can access guidance on dealing with
terrorism via the UK Resilience website. Many local authorities
have also issued guidance to schools in their area to assist in
emergency planning.
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The UK aviation security regime is one of the most developed
in the world. It was further tightened in the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks in the United States. The programme is kept
under permanent review and adjusted when necessary.
Our aviation security programme works on many levels, with
measures for all stages of the process - from check-in through to
the flight itself. Not all of the measures are obvious: a lot goes
on behind the scenes.
In May 2002 the Home Office and the Department for Transport
appointed Sir John Wheeler to carry out a major independent review
of airport security and policing. With the Department for
Transport, we accepted and are now implementing the additional
measures recommended in his October 2002 report.
Security measures on the ground currently include an enhanced
passenger searching regime, and a tightening up of the articles
that cannot be taken into an aircraft cabin.
Amongst in-flight security measures are regulations ensuring
that cockpit doors on all aircraft leaving the UK and using UK
airspace are locked. We are also implementing a requirement to fit
strengthened cockpit doors, six months ahead of the international
deadline.
In 2002, we also decided to reinforce the existing package of
measures for in-flight security by developing a capability to place
covert, specially trained armed police officers aboard UK civil
aircraft, should that be warranted.
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The handling of animals, including pets, would depend very
much on the particular circumstances of an incident. In drawing up
contingency plans following the deliberate release of biological
agents, such as infectious diseases, we have given consideration to
the handling of animals.
No. We take contingency planning for potential terrorist
attack very seriously and are working with the emergency services
to ensure that they have the equipment they need to protect the
public from the use of chemical, biological or radiological (CBR)
materials. Effective measures are in place to detect such
substances on a routine basis, where required, and equipment is
regularly tested by independent scientists and other relevant
agencies, including the emergency services.
The demanding and potentially dangerous job of detecting such
materials should therefore be left to personnel in the emergency
services and responsible agencies who are professionally trained in
the necessary equipment. Businesses considering measures to prevent
or reduce the impact of terrorism should contact the
counter-terrorist security adviser in their local police force who
will be able to give further advice.