UK spy chief: Al Qaeda, ISIS inspiring plots; extreme right views leading to terror intent

The UK’s MI5 spy chief Ken McCallum says in his annual speech that terror groups Al Qaeda and the Islamic State continue to inspire plots, and that MI5 is still having to respond to attempts to carry out mass-casualty attacks, after the country raised its national terrorism ​threat level to “severe,” meaning an attack within the next six months is highly likely.

He says the most marked trend of the last year has been the increase in cases where extreme right-wing anti-immigration and anti-Muslim grievances are tipping over into terrorist intent.

An investigation into one 13-year-old who had been radicalized by extreme right-wing ideology has led to an unnamed foreign partner thwarting a lethal attack on its soil, he says.

He adds that a 16-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in prison for planning to firebomb a Muslim center, according to The Guardian.