Terrorism

What it is

Be Ready says the threat of terrorism endures and evolves in the UK and around the world. When the page was read on 29 October 2026 it gave the current UK threat level as SEVERE, meaning an attack is highly likely. The chance of being caught up in an incident remains low, but it is important to be prepared and to know how to protect yourself, in the UK and when travelling overseas.

What it does to a home

Terrorism rarely reaches the home itself. It reaches the household when someone is in a crowded place or abroad. The preparation is knowledge: the Run, Hide, Tell sequence, the reporting routes, and the travel advice for any trip. Businesses and venues have duties under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn's Law, and ProtectUK hosts material on it alongside toolkits for reducing the risk to you, your business and your community.

Who warns you

MI5 publishes the threat level. Counter Terrorism Policing publishes public safety advice and, through the Metropolitan Police on behalf of all UK forces, an online service for reporting possible terrorist activity. A dedicated police Anti-Terrorism Hotline, staffed by specially trained officers who treat calls in confidence, is listed on the Be Ready page. Information that does not relate to an imminent threat can go to MI5 directly, anonymously. If something does not feel right, the message is ACT.

If you are worried that someone is being radicalised, gov.uk has guidance on getting help and ACT Early at actearly.uk explains what to do.

For travel, the FCDO's country advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice sets out specific terrorism threats in other parts of the world, and the overseas emergencies page covers what to arrange before you go.

How the government assesses it

The National Risk Register 2025 opens its risk summaries with terrorism. It assesses an international terrorist attack involving British nationals abroad, recalling the 2015 attack in Tunisia in which 30 of the victims were British. It assesses attacks in venues and public spaces with explosive devices, citing the 2017 Manchester Arena attack in which 22 people were killed, and marauding attacks with vehicles, bladed weapons or firearms, citing the 2017 London Bridge attack and the 2020 Reading attack. For the category of terrorist attacks in publicly accessible locations the average impact score is 3, moderate, and the average likelihood score is 5, meaning more than a 25 per cent chance. The register also assesses Northern Ireland related terrorism, strategic hostage taking, assassination of a public figure, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, and conventional attacks on infrastructure. The hazardous substances and radiation page carries the UKHSA advice that applies to a chemical or radiological release whatever its cause.

Where to look

• Threat level at mi5.gov.uk/threats-and-advice/terrorism-threat-levels.
• Counter Terrorism Policing at counterterrorism.police.uk and ProtectUK at protectuk.police.uk.
• Support Hub at terrorismsurvivorhub.org.uk.
• Related pages: overseas emergencies, hazardous substances and radiation, cyber incidents.