How many terror attacks have there been in the UK and what is the definition of terrorism?
IT's been two years since the London Bridge terror attack, and five years since terrorist group ISIS declared the creation of an Islamic caliphate.
We take a closer look at the attacks on this country. What exactly defines a terror attack? And how many have there been in the UK?
What is the definition of a terror attack?
Recent attacks in the UK have sparked some debate about how people refer to such incidents, and what qualifies as terrorism.
MI5 said there was “no agreed definition of terrorism internationally”, according to the .
But the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000 describes terrorism as: “The use or threat of action designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public, or a section of the public; made for the purposes of advancing a political, a religious, a racial or an ideological cause.”
The act says the use or threat of action must involve serious violence against a person; serious damage to a property; a threat to a person's life; a serious risk to the health and safety of the public; or serious interference with or disruption to an electronic system.
What went on at London Bridge on November 29?
A suspected "Islamic" terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest was shot dead by cops after attacking up to 12 people with a knife at London Bridge.
Two people attacked by the unnamed man have died.
Terrifying footage showed the suspect was shot dead twice at the scene after hero bystanders wrestled him to the ground.
Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu confirmed a number of people had been injured in the stabbing attack this afternoon.
Assistant Commissioner Basu said: "We believe a device was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax device."
He said that while authorities were keeping an "open mind", the attack had been declared a terrorist incident.
You can keep up with updates from the scene here.
How many terror attacks have there been in the UK?
Terror attacks in the UK stretch back centuries and include well-known incidents like Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot, which sought to bring down the government of the time.
Focusing on more recent times, the UK has experienced thousands of terror attacks since 1970, according to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
The vast majority of these have been in Northern Ireland, taking place over decades of sectarian strife, or other parts of the UK related to The Troubles.
These include the 1974 IRA pub bombing in Guildford, and the terror group’s attack on Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre in 1996.
What should you do if you are caught up in a terror attack?
In 2015, 38 tourists including 30 Brits, were killed when Seifeddine Rezgui launched an attack on holidaymakers on a Tunisian beach.
Now Counter Terrorism Police UK has produced a video (at bottom of the article) explaining how British holidaymakers travelling abroad this summer can keep safe in the "unlikely " event of a terrorist attack.
They should run if there's a safe route, leave belongings behind and not let other people's "indecision slow them down".
Then they should find a place to hide, stay silent and create a physical barrier between themselves and the attacker while remaining aware of their exits.
People caught up in such incidents should call police as soon as they are in a safe location.
The current terror threat level in the UK remains at severe.
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How many people have died in UK terror attacks?
The number of fatalities from terror attacks on UK soil between 1970 and 2015 stands at 3,395, according to GTD.
A further 37 people have been killed since then – 36 in the attacks on Westminster, Manchester Arena, London Bridge and Finsbury Park this year.
The MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by far-right terrorist Thomas Mair in 2016 is also included in the figures.
This recent flurry of attacks takes the overall total of fatalities to 3,432 since 1970.
Between 2000 and 2017, 127 people died as a result of in UK terror atrocities, the figures reveal.
This compares to 1,094 deaths in the 15-year period between 1985 and 1999, and 2,211 between 1970 and 1984.
On September 15, 2017, an explosion on a District Line train left 18 people injured, but there were no fatalities.
What attacks have there been since 2005?
- July 7, 2005: Four Islamist extremists carry out a string of suicide bombings on London buses and tube trains. 56 people are killed.
- June 30, 2007: Glasgow International Airport is attacked by Islamist extremists driving a vehicle loaded with gas canisters. Nobody was killed but five were hurt.
- May 22, 2008: An Islamist extremist launched a failed suicide attack on a café in Exeter, injuring only himself.
- April 29-July 12, 2013: Ukrainian right-wing extremist stabbed a Muslim man from Birmingham to death before setting off bombs outside a series of mosques in the West Midlands. Nobody was killed in the bombings, which he said were aimed at starting a “race war”.
- May 22, 2013: Brit soldier Lee Rigby murdered in the street in Woolwich, South London, by two Islamist extremists.
- June 16, 2016: Labour MP Jo Cox murdered in the street by far-right extremist Thomas Mair, in her constituency of Birstall, West Yorks. Mair shouted "death to traitors, freedom for Britain" as he carried out the killing.
- March 22, 2017: Khalid Masood drives a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before jumping out and stabbing a police officer. Five victims died.
- May 22, 2017: Salman Abedi blows himself up after a pop concert by Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena. There are 22 fatalities.
- June 3, 2017: Three Islamist extremists plough a hired van into people on London Bridge before jumping out and going on a stabbing rampage. Eight people lose their lives.
- June 19, 2017: A van slams into worshippers near Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. One person died.
- September 15, 2017: Bungling bomber Ahmed Hassan manages to avoid seriously injuring anyone after trying to blow up a tube train at Parsons Green station.
- August 14, 2018: A car rams into cyclists outside Parliament at the height of morning rush hour. Two people are taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.