Cameron discusses UK terror threat with security, spy chiefs

British Prime Minister David Cameron today met the country's security and spy chiefs here and discussed the threat faced by the UK of a Paris-style attack.
In the meeting, it was agreed that security agencies in Britain will consider elements of the Paris attacks, which claimed 17 lives, while planning future training exercises for police and security services.
The UK's terror threat level remains at "severe" - meaning an attack is highly likely - one below the highest "critical" level, which would suggest an attack is imminent.
After the meeting, Cameron tweeted: "We discussed ensuring the UK is properly protected from the terrorist threat."

A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister asked the police and military to continue to work closely together to ensure the police can call on appropriate military assistance when required across the country.
"They also discussed the risk posed by firearms, agreeing that our existing tough firearms laws are a very important part of the protections we have and that we should step up our efforts with other countries to crackdown on the illegal smuggling of weapons across borders," he added.

After joining French president Francois Hollande, and more than one million people, for a unity rally in Paris yesterday, Cameron said the UK is facing the same threat from the "fanatical death cult of Islamist extremist violence".

He stressed his determination to give the security services more powers to intercept the communications of terrorist suspects.
Twelve people were killed by Al Qaeda terrorists at the offices of the satirical magazine 'Charlie Hebdo' in Paris last Wednesday while a policeman was shot dead nearby. Four hostages died at a Jewish supermarket on Friday.
Meanwhile, the British Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has raised concerns about the government's counter-terrorism bill, which is due for its second reading in the House of Lords tomorrow.
It contains plans to block UK terror suspects returning to Britain and to impose a statutory obligation on universities to prevent people being drawn into terrorism.

The human rights committee, which is made up of British MPs and peers, says blocking the return of terror suspects from countries such as Syria would violate the human rights of British nationals even if it was enforced on a temporary basis.
It also said that including universities in a list of institutions required to crackdown on extremism had "implications for both freedom of expression and academic freedom".