A terror attack on the UK is “highly likely”, according to new Prime Minister Theresa May in the wake of the killings in Nice.
In her first speech after the latest attack in France, May said the country must step up its efforts to combat terrorism, the BBC reported.
She said: "If, as we fear, this was a terrorist attack then we must redouble our efforts to defeat these brutal murderers who want to destroy our way of life.”
May said the government would look into giving the police new powers and funding to try and combat the threat, The Independent reported.
She has also called a meeting of senior officials in the government's emergency Cobra committee, which was set up to respond to national crises.
May said: "Senior officials today will be reviewing what more we can do to ascertain whether there is any further action we need to take,” The Independent reported. She added: "But our security services and our police are ever-vigilant and, as I say, the threat level here is already at a level which says that a terrorist attack is highly likely."
The threat of an attack in the UK remains “severe”, which it has been since 2014, one step below “critical”, when an attack is expected imminently.
May condemned the “horrifying” terrorist attack in Nice and said she would speak to French President Hollande to “make clear that the United Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with France today as we have done so often in the past," the BBC reported.
She also said today must be dedicated to mourning the victims of the Nice attack. “Today our thoughts must be with those people in France, with the people of France, and all those who have lost their loved ones or have been injured in this attack," reported The Independent.
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