Warning to Christmas partygoers ahead of festive season: Counter-terror police urge public to be on high alert and report things that do not ‘feel right’
- Commander Dominic Murphy told people to be vigilant in run-up to Christmas
Counter-terror police have urged the public to be on high alert in a warning to Christmas partygoers ahead of the festive season.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, told Londoners to be vigilant in the run-up to Christmas and praised members of the public for reporting things that do not ‘feel right’.
This comes after Britons made around 13,000 reports nationally to counter-terror police in the year ending March 2023.
About one fifth of these reports proved ‘particularly useful’ to investigations, many of which had a significant link to London, the Met Police revealed in a statement.
Commander Murphy said: ‘Communities make an invaluable contribution to our work to stop terrorism. People in London have literally helped us save lives by reporting their concerns to us.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, told Londoners to be vigilant and report concerns as the capital enters a busy period of festivities (file image)
‘While there is no specific threat to London, it is exceptionally busy over the festive period and the current threat level for terrorism is “substantial” so everyone needs to be vigilant. Please trust your instincts and contact us if something doesn’t feel right.’
People are urged to alert police if they see something that doesn’t feel right. They should report it either online at gov.uk/act or by calling police to talk through concerns in confidence on 0800 789 321 or via 999 in an emergency.
The Met said in their statement that there was a surge in public reporting of terror concerns in London following the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
‘From 7-25th October, the number of public reports via the confidential hotline and ACT website were double that of the same period last year,’ it added.
Partygoers in Londonwill see officers on patrol at crowded spaces, including Project Servator officers, who are specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone is planning or preparing to commit a crime over the festive period.
This comes after self-radicalised teenage terrorist Matthew King (pictured), 19, was jailed for life earlier this year for planning to attack a police station and discussing the dismembering of a British soldier. He was stopped after his mother reported him to the counter-terrorism scheme Prevent
Project Servator officers will be talking to the public and encouraging them to report any concerns, while also reassuring them that officers are in the area, keeping everyone safe, the Met said.
The Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit, which identifies and seeks the removal of terrorist and extremist content online, has removed more than 322,000 pieces of harmful content since 2015.
Many of these removed pieces have been reported by members of the public.
This comes after self-radicalised teenage terrorist Matthew King, 19, was jailed for life earlier this year for planning to attack a police station and discussing the dismembering of a British soldier.
Detectives said King was a day away from launching an assault on a police station or army barracks after spending weeks conducting reconnaissance, but he was stopped from carrying out his plan when his mother reported him to the government’s counter-terrorism scheme Prevent.
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