UK terror threat downgraded
The threat to the UK posed by terrorism has been downgraded from critical to severe, the British Home Office has said.
British Home Secretary John Reid said that judgements had been made based on the latest intelligence reports, but stressed that there is still a very high likelihood of an attempted attack.
He said: "The police believe that the main suspects in the alleged plot were arrested last week."
He continued: "Threat level assessments are intelligence-led. It is not a process where scientific precision is possible. They involve judgements.
"The public needs to know that there may be other people out there who may be planning an attack against the UK. That is why there are a number of other security service operations underway.
"I want to stress, therefore, that the change in the threat level does not mean that the threat has gone away."
Following the change in threat level, the ban on taking hand luggage on to flights from the UK has been lifted.
In a statement, the Department of Transport said passengers would now be allowed to carry one item of hand luggage on to flights.
It said the new arrangements apply to "all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport and to those transferring from international flights at a UK airport".
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