Two of the U.K.’s top crime agencies launched an appeal for information that could prevent jihadis accessing guns to carry out terror attacks.
The campaign by the National Crime Agency and National Counter Terrorism Policing, launched Monday, calls on the public to report illegal weapons being smuggled into Britain or licensed weapons that are stolen.
In a statement, the agencies said at least 10 terror attacks had been foiled in the past two years, and public tip-offs were key to preventing “an incident similar to that seen in Paris a year ago.”
The U.K.’s current threat level from international terrorism is “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.
Mark Rowley, the head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said in the statement that the relatively low number of automatic and other guns in the U.K. was an advantage that “provides more opportunity to intercept terrorists before they acquire them,” adding that “about half of the plots we intercept involve terrorists seeking to obtain weapons.”
The appeal targeted “families, partners, friends and associates of criminal or gang members,” as well as the general public, to make them consider “the deadly consequences of keeping silent,” National Crime Agency Director General Lynne Owens said.