Emergency Cobra meeting called to discuss terror threat level to UK

07 November 2023 , 14:18

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The Cobra meeting has been called to discuss the UK's terror threat (Image: Getty Images)

An emergency Cobra meeting has been called this afternoon to discuss the UK's terror threat level.

Downing Street has announced that Deputy PM Oliver Dowden will chair the meeting, which is expected to include intelligence and police chiefs. It is unclear if this is in relation to a specific threat.

It comes days after Home Secretary Suella Braverman said there was an "accelerated terrorism threat" due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Today's meeting will also focus on community cohesion.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told reporters it "will look a wide range of areas but it's obviously particularly focused on the impact of the terrorist attack on the UK domestically". Downing Street said the meeting had been called to "coordinate the Government’s response to the situation in Israel and Gaza, focused on protecting communities in the UK".

He said the meeting will address important issues around "community cohesion". It is the second Cobra meeting to discuss the crisis after Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman attended a discussion last week.

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The UK's current threat level is "substantial" - a level in place since February last year when it was downgraded from "severe". Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said laws could be "sharpened" to deal with extremism amid a rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents.

Last week the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre kept the threat level the same, Ms Braverman said. The Home Secretary told broadcasters: "As Sir Mark Rowley himself said, there is an accelerated terrorism threat because of what's happening and it's vital that we keep a close eye on the developing situation."

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Dave Burke