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Chris Phillips, former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told the Mirror: ‘There will be concerns of a copycat attack taking place in the UK. Iconic sites are the key and there are hundreds of them here in the UK’
British counter-terrorism officers are on high alert amid concerns of a copycat attack in the wake of the New Orleans atrocity.
Police and MI5 fear Islamic State supporters could be triggered into launching a knife or vehicle assault after 15 people were killed when the driver of a pick-up truck sped into large crowds on Bourbon Street in the US city’s French Quarter on New Year’s Day.
A UK Counter Terrorism Police spokesman said on Thursday that officers “continually assess international events” to understand if there are any implications for national security. Britain is high on the terrorist target list, with more than 600 live MI5 investigations into possible plots and over 3,000 extremists.
The threat of international terrorism in the UK is “substantial”, meaning an attack is “likely” and armed police are patrolling iconic sites that could be targeted. It comes after Scotland Yard revealed last month that it had stopped three intended terrorist attacks in the late-stage of planning in the last 12 months.
Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told the Mirror: “The US and UK work closely together on terrorism matters. I’m certain they will be sharing intelligence and knowledge.
“The New Orleans incident is a potential copycat of the Magdeburg Christmas market atrocity in Germany a few weeks ago so there will be concerns of a copycat attack taking place in the UK. Iconic sites are the key and there are hundreds of them here in the UK. Bourbon Street is the first place tourists go to when they arrive in New Orleans and that is not a coincidence.
“We have places just like that across London. With its famous bars and strip clubs Bourbon street it’s synonymous with a drinking and partying culture in the US.
“We already have hostile vehicle measures in place in many locations but you have to ask yourself how much do you want to do, it’s not possible to protect everywhere, however iconic sites should pay attention to the threat. It’s always a delicate balance between security, safety and our freedoms. There are so many streets in the UK that you would call iconic.
“It’s impossible to protect them all from someone who can just jump into a car and drive at the public. Intelligence is the only real way to stop an attack like this, before they get into the vehicle.”
William Wechsler, former US deputy assistant secretary of defence, said on Thursday that the rise of Islamic State aligned HTS in Syria has been seen by extremist sympathisers as a “harbinger of great victory”.
He said: “Just a few years ago there was an attack in New York City inspired by the Islamic State the same year there was an attack in London…so the threat of Islamic State directed and inspired violence has not gone away, in fact it may be increasingly directed in part by some of the news that comes out of the region where Islamic State is most active.”
Mr Wechsler added: “There’s an ideology behind the Islamic State of the recreation of the caliphate that many who share that particular vision for Islam find very attractive. When they see terrorists and others that subscribe to that vision be successful in places like Syria that further indicates in their minds their religious mission and might inspire them towards attacks elsewhere as well.”
A Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson said on Thursday: “Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the horrific events in New Orleans including our US law enforcement colleagues.
“The terrorist threat level in the UK remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely. Public vigilance is critical to our efforts to keep our communities safe and we continue to ask people to report anything that doesn’t feel right to police. Always call 999 in an emergency.
“As the public would expect, we continually assess international events to understand if there are any implications for the UK’s national security.”