On 10th January 2022, the Minister for Security and Borders at the Home Office, Damian Hinds MP, released a report summarising the findings from the public consultation for the proposed Protect Duty legislation that will require owners and/or operators of Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs) to take appropriate and proportionate measures to protect the public from terrorist attack.
There were no terrorist attacks in Great Britain this month. However, the Minister of State for Security and Borders re-emphasised the evolving nature of the terrorist threat towards “self-initiated” terrorism, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It feels appropriate, a couple of months after the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, to pause and consider whether the world is more, or less, secure from terrorism than in the latter part of the previous century. I fear not. We are living in unprecedented times, in a new paradigm where “Cold War” has been replaced by “Hot Peace”. A paradigm where we have gone from a bi-polar world to one of multiple asymmetric conflicts and threats, where war is now indistinguishable from peace. Where the distinction between acts of war, hybrid war, terrorism, and serious organised crime, in particular in the cyber domain, is becoming increasingly blurred. The build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border, coupled with destablisation operations by Belarus...
There was one terrorist attack in Great Britain this month: an Improvised Explosive Device partially detonated outside the Liverpool Women’s hospital. It remains unknown if the hospital was the intended target as a Remembrance Day service was underway nearby, and the motivation for the attack is still unconfirmed. As a result of this attack, and the killing of Sir David Amess MP last month, the UK terrorism threat level was raised to SEVERE: meaning an attack is “highly likely”.
Retail and hospitality businesses will no doubt be looking forward to a busy festive period, many of which have endured an incredibly difficult past 18 months due to pandemic lockdowns. However, as high streets, bars and restaurants become a hive of activity the UK Counter Terrorism and Metropolitan Police have warned of the increased likelihood of a terrorist attack.
