By IRNA,
London : Britain will remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks for another three decades, according to a new report published Tuesday.
“There is no doubt more attacks will be attempted against the UK and those involved are again likely to travel abroad for preparation,” said the author of the report, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens.
“Others may travel to the UK for the sole purpose of carrying out attacks,” Stevens also said, warning that Britain’s borders are insufficiently protected and that militants can enter the country undetected.
There is “no indication that the threat level will reduce significantly” for “at least 20 to 30 years,” he was quoted saying by the Daily Telegraph.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned that Britain was subject to a “long-term and sustained” threat. His predecessor Tony Blair previously said the so-called ‘war on terror’ would last at least a decade.
In a report on Britain’s borders, the former police chief, who is also an adviser to Brown, said that he envisaged a 35,000-strong Border Protection Service was needed to deal with terrorism, organized crime, people trafficking, illegal immigration and fraud.
“The lack of a clear border security strategy has resulted in a situation where agencies are unaware of where their shared priorities lie,” he said in the study, which was commissioned by opposition Conservative leader David Cameron.
Stevens warned that this has resulted in “key duties not being carried out, resources not properly allocated, organizations not working together as they should and focus being placed on narrow border control issues, specific to each agency and not the overall border security picture of the UK.”
The report also said that Britain’s air cargo system is “vulnerable to security threats including potential plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft.”
In his latest annual review of terrorism legislation, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile also warned that jets could be hijacked and used as “vehicle bombs” to target the public and that such attacks would be “relatively simple” to orchestrate.