31 terrorist plots aimed at United Kingdom foiled in last four years: MI5 chief

Ken McCallum, MI5 chief, said that the majority of these plots were Islamist extremists, while there also have been a rising number of attack plots from right-wing terrorists.

The United Kingdom stopped as many as 31 “late-stage” terrorist plots in the past four years, the chief of the country’s domestic-counter intelligence and security agency MI5, Ken McCallum said on Friday while pointing out the risks that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan posed.

United Kingdom's domestic-counter intelligence and security agency MI5 chief Ken McCallum said that the terrorist threat in the country is “real and enduring.” (UK Government/Handout via REUTERS)

He said that although the majority of these foiled plots were “Islamist extremists,” there has also been a “growing number of attack plots from extremist right-wing terrorists.”

“The terrorist threat to the UK, I am sorry to say, is a real and enduring thing,” McCullum told BBC Radio, adding that the country does face a “consistent global struggle” to overpower terrorism and guard against the same.

The MI5 chief also stressed that the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan after almost 20 years would have added fuel to these terrorist groups. “There is no doubt that recent events in Afghanistan will have heartened and emboldened some of those extremists,” he told BBC Radio.

In this matter, McCallum said that countries need to be “vigilant” because the Taliban’s reemergence in Afghanistan has given an “overnight psychological boost” – a morale upliftment – to extremists “already here (the UK) and in other countries.”

The security agency chief further stated that besides the “inspirational effect” that the events in Afghanistan have, it comes with the risk of terrorists reconstituting and “once again” posing a “well-developed, sophisticated plots” of the kind that the United States faced in 9/11 and the years thereafter.

McCallum said that the number of terror plots that the UK disrupt these days are actually “higher than the number of plots which were coming at [them] after 9/11,” but on average, they are “smaller plots of lower sophistication.”

The Taliban on Tuesday announced a caretaker government led by Mullah Hassan Akhund as the prime minister, and Mullah Abdul Ghani as the first deputy the PM.

The Islamist insurgents have time and again assured that Afghanistan’s soil won’t be used for terrorist activities and that they want to maintain good relations with international countries. However, the all-male cabinet of the new Taliban government has drawn concerns especially because the Islamist group had earlier stated that they will form an inclusive government.

Meanwhile, reports have claimed that the group may hold the oath-taking ceremony on September 11, adding that invitations have already been sent to China, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US.

(With reports from agencies)