London: NATO and EU security chiefs predict that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) will use chemical or nuclear weapons to attack Britain.
A group of policing and counter terrorism experts delivered a dire warning during the Security and Counter Terror conference in London on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jorge Berto Silva, the European Commission’s deputy chief of counter-terrorism, told the Telegraph that “with CBRN [chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear materials], there is a justified concern.”
Dr Jamie Shea, NATO’s deputy head of emerging threats, shared his view, “we know terrorists are trying to acquire these substances.”
Police authorities have planned to train a million UK workers to deal with terror attacks over the next 12 months. A group of former security officials have also launched an initiative to examine Britain’s borders.
The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) wants to see the number of workers trained to respond to terrorist incidents increased from its current rate of 100,000 employees per year.
Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Wilson, police counter-terrorism coordinator, is expected to announce the expansion of Project Griffin in the near future.
He told the BBC “we need everyone to play a part in keeping the public alert, not alarmed.”
In an open letter to the Telegraph, two former Metropolitan Police commanders, MPs and a former head of counter-terrorism command said that regardless of whether Britain leaves the EU or not, intelligence sharing and border control must be taken seriously.
They said recent terror attacks in Europe were a “wake-up call for the British government over the need better to secure this country’s borders.”
Nuclear submarine engineer William McNeilly, who was kicked out of the service for his revelations, said: “I didn’t release my report to discredit the Royal Navy. I released my report because safety and security [at the Trident base] is not being taken seriously. Because it’s a risk to the people and a risk to the land.”