Threat level for Northern Ireland related terrorism in Northern Ireland reduced to SUBSTANTIAL

Published date: 06 Mar 2024

MI5 has lowered the terrorism threat level for Northern Ireland related terrorism in Northern Ireland from 'SEVERE' to 'SUBSTANTIAL'.

This means an attack is 'likely'.

Announcing the change to Parliament today, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said:

"This positive step reflects the commitment of communities from across Northern Ireland to build a safer place to live and work.

"As ever, the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns they may have to the police.

"There remains a small group of people determined to destabilise the political settlement in Northern Ireland through acts of terrorism."

MI5, alongside our partners, will continue to work around the clock to investigate and disrupt terrorism in all its forms, as part of our mission to keep the country safe.

Find out more about terrorism threat levels.  

Threat level to Northern Ireland from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism lowered to SUBSTANTIAL

Published date: 22 Mar 2022

Today, MI5 has lowered the threat level to Northern Ireland from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) from 'SEVERE' to 'SUBSTANTIAL'. 

The change reflects the assessment that the threat to Northern Ireland from NIRT has reduced. This is the first time that this threat level has been lowered since it was initially published in 2010. 

The move to SUBSTANTIAL however means that an attack is still 'likely' and may occur without further warning.

The Northern Ireland Secretary said in a statement: 

The fact that the threat level is being lowered from where it has been since September 2010 is a testament to the Government’s ongoing commitment to protecting the peace process and tackling Northern Ireland-related terrorism, as well as the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 for their hard won gains over the past decade that have helped to make Northern Ireland a safer place to live and work.

Despite the change in the threat level, terrorism remains one of the most direct and immediate risks to our National Security and to communities in Northern Ireland. There remains a small group of people determined to destabilise the political settlement in Northern Ireland through acts of terrorism.

MI5, alongside our partners, will continue to work around the clock to tackle the threat from terrorism in all its forms, in our mission to keep the country safe. 

See the threat levels page for more information.

Threat level to GB from Northern Ireland-related terrorism lowered to MODERATE

Published date: 01 Mar 2018

MI5 has reduced the threat level to Great Britain from Northern Ireland-related terrorism from SUBSTANTIAL to MODERATE. This means that a terrorist attack is possible, but not likely.

In a written statement to Parliament, the Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

Despite the change which has been made today, there remains a real and serious threat against the United Kingdom from terrorism and I would ask the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police regardless of the threat level.

The decision to change this threat level is taken by the Security Service independently of Ministers and is based on the very latest intelligence, considering factors such as capability, intent and timescale. Threat levels are kept under constant review.

The threat level to the UK from international terrorism remains at SEVERE, and the threat level to Northern Ireland from Northern Ireland-related terrorism also remains at SEVERE meaning that an attack is highly likely.

10th Anniversary of MI5 HQ in Northern Ireland

Published date: 02 Oct 2017

Tuesday 3rd October 2017 marks the 10th Anniversary of the opening of MI5's headquarters in Palace Barracks, just outside Belfast, Northern Ireland. The building was opened in readiness for MI5 to assume responsibility from PSNI for national security intelligence work in Northern Ireland, which formally took effect from 10 October 2007.

In the subsequent ten years, staff have worked in close concert with PSNI, An Garda Siochana and many other partner organisations to manage the continuing threat from Northern Ireland related terrorism.

It is impossible to prevent every terrorist attack, and tragically there have been a number of fatalities since the HQ opened. But we and our partner organisations have also succeeded in preventing hundreds more potential terrorist attacks; made more than two hundred seizures of terrorist material, including weapons and explosives; and secured over a hundred convictions on terrorist charges.