DIRTY BOMB THREAT
Terrorists will launch successful chemical, bio or nuke attack on UK in next 9 years, leaked government report warns
TERRORISTS are poised to launch a successful chemical, biological or nuclear attack on Britain in the next nine years, a leaked government report has warned.
In the review, the government warned a terrorist group is likely to mount a "dirty bomb" attack by 2030.
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The shocking claim comes as the PM prepares to dramatically increase Britain's arsenal of nukes in a dangerous-post Covid world.
Boris Johnson will set up a new counter-terrorism operations centre to help tackle the terrorist threat.
The review, due to be published today, said: "The main sources of terrorist threat are from Islamist and Northern Ireland-related terrorism and far-right, far-left, anarchist and single-issue terrorism.
". . It is likely that a terrorist group will launch a successful CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] attack by 2030.”
TERROR BOMB FEARS
But speaking this morning, Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, said he was not aware a terrorist dirty bomb attack was an "imminent issue".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK should "of course" be prepared for the threat of a dirty bomb attack by 2030.
Sir Alex added: "That's been a standing feature of the terrorist threat, the small possibility that terrorist groups might get hold of strategic weapons and their long-standing aspiration to do so.
"We clearly need to stay focused on it, I'm not aware of any information that has it as an imminent issue but clearly it has got to stay factored in."
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The review says troops will serve overseas “more often and for longer” as Britain tries to carve out an aggressive role as the world’s policeman in the “new frontiers” of space and cyber-warfare.
They will “train, exercise and operate alongside allies and partners across all our priority regions” and “build the capacity of others to deter and defend against state threats and where necessary, assist nations in countering non-state challenges” like terrorists.
But the Army is set to face heavy cuts, losing 10,000 personnel, four infantry battalions, 77 tanks and 760 Warrior fighting vehicles.
And the RAF is poised to lose 24 Typhoons jets, its 13 strong fleet of Hercules transport planes and the Queen’s four remaining VIP jets.
The Navy will lose two specialist sub-hunting frigates, HMS Montrose and HMS Monmouth, as well as its 13 strong fleet of minehunters which are due to be replaced by drones.
The PM wants to lead the charge shaping the unstable post-pandemic global order with a proactive push into space and cyber-warfare as well as a massive £24 billion increase in defence spending.
Back home a 21st century Dad’s Army style “reservist cadre” will be recruited as a national disaster force, all run from a new high-tech £9.3 million Whitehall “Situation Centre” bunker coordinating spies and drones.
Mr Johnson's landmark overhaul of foreign and defence policy warns our way of life is under threat from rogue states, terrorists and even big tech firms - with Brexit giving the newly nimble UK a unique opportunity to become the West’s lynch-pin on the world stage.
A leaked copy of the 114 page Integrated Review, due to be published on Tuesday afternoon, warns we “must do a better job of putting the interests and values of the British people at the heart of everything we do”.
Amid a crumbling world order it says defending “the status quo” was no longer enough.
And it warns Britain will have to fight harder and more creatively with all of the tools at its disposal, including cyber attacks, diplomacy and trade, to defend its values around the world.
But the review is likely to trigger major backlash after arguing Britain must seek closer economic ties with China and butchers Saudi Arabia while further freezing out the Russian menace.
PM will unveil a doom-laden vision of the world by 2030 that shows the threats to democracy heightened by the fall out of the pandemic - with a dramatic increase in new tech and modern warfare needed to keep Britain “match-fit.”.
He will starkly lays out that “the terrorist threat in the UK remains all too real – whether Islamist-inspired, Northern Ireland-related or driven by other motivations”.
The report warns “it is likely that a terrorist group will launch a successful chemical, biological or nuclear attack by 2030” with a new cross-Whitehall Counter Terrorism Operations Centre set up.
WE MUST BE 'MORE ROBUST'
To fight terrorists and hostile states, there must be “a shift to a more robust position on security and deterrence” with “more of our armed forces overseas more often and for longer periods of time.”
They will “train, exercise and operate alongside allies and partners across all our priority regions” and “build the capacity of others to deter and defend against state threats and where necessary, assist nations in countering non-state challenges” like terrorists.
As The Sun revealed two weeks ago, this will come alongside a dramatic increase in trade with Pacific region, focusing first on India where the PM soon.
International aid will return to 0.7% of UK output after Covid passes, but the report says this should be refocused "more strategically" and include grants to allied developing countries that could "include support to high-quality infrastructure."
Military bases will be revamped in Kenya, Oman, Singapore, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Germany so forces can respond more quickly - with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region.
In space we will “create shared rules in frontiers such as cyberspace and space” overseen by the nascent Space Command and a new National Cyber Force will us offensive hacking to “detect, disrupt and deter our adversaries”
Ambitious plans to modernise the armed forces will see billions of pounds worth of old kit axed, including tanks, planes and warships.
The nuclear deterrent will be upped from the current stock of not more than 180 warheads to not more than 260, amid fears other countries are "increasing and diversifying their nuclear arsenals.”
Rivals are using “novel nuclear technologies and developing new ‘warfighting’ nuclear systems” in a bid to “coerce others.”
OLDER KIT REPLACED
Science and technology will be treated as a matter of National Security, with £6.6 billion to give Britain “an enduring military edge in areas including space, directed energy weapons, and advanced high-speed missiles”.
Mr Johnson says it is "our aim is to have secured our status as a Science and Tech Superpower by 2030."
And the government will run a series of national level rehearsals to prepare for future crises.
In his introduction to the report, the PM writes: "Having left the European Union, the UK has started a new chapter in our history."
"Few nations are better placed to navigate the challenges ahead, but we must be willing to change our approach and adapt to the new world emerging around us.
"Open and democratic societies like the UK must demonstrate they are match-fit for a more competitive world."
Mr Johnson vows to “defend the integrity of our nation against state threats, whether in the form of illicit finance or coercive economic measures, disinformation, cyber-attacks, electoral interference or even – three years after the Salisbury attack – the use of chemical or other weapons of mass destruction."
Global Britain's new priorities will be shown off with a tour of the pacific later this year by the Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier.
Last night the MoD said the armed forces were changing to meet new threats.
"As threats change our armed forces must change," a spokesperson said.
"They are being redesigned to confront future threats, not re-fight old wars."The Armed Forces will be fully staffed and equipped to confront those threats."
But Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said the leaked report "says loud and clear that Global Britain is back.
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"It also makes clear we must be aware of the very real threats to our way of life", he added.
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"Out of the EU, we will now be able to take on the global big beasts of China and Russia with a nimbler and better equipped national force.
"260 nuclear warheads sends a message loud and clear to our adversaries that Britain will defend itself by all means necessary."
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