Image caption Eight people were killed when three attackers drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in Borough Market

Police and security services are to get more powers and resources to stop terror attacks at an earlier stage, according to the Sunday Times.

It says the new government anti-terror strategy proposes sharing information about suspects more widely, according to a leaked draft which it has seen.

It follows a review of last year's attacks in Manchester and London.

The Home Office would not comment on the leaked report but has promised a "comprehensive" strategy.

Some of the attackers involved in last year's terror attacks at Westminster, London Bridge and Manchester, which saw 35 people killed, had been known to the police and intelligence services.

That sparked calls for changes to be made to the UK's counter-terrorism laws.

The intelligence agency MI5 has information on more than 23,000 "subjects of interest", but only around 3,000 are under active investigation.

The Sunday Times reports that the new strategy will enable counter-terrorism investigators to warn other agencies - government departments, councils, devolved administrations and local police forces - about suspects on their radar before they are considered dangerous enough to be placed under MI5 surveillance.

'Change of approach'

It is claimed the plan, due to be published in the next few weeks, also calls for more focus on "communities where the threat from terrorism and radicalisation is highest".

It would also introduce longer prison terms for terror offences, as well as more intensive monitoring when people are released from jail.

A "change of approach" is required, according to the leaked report, as the threat of terrorism is "higher" since the last counter-terrorism strategy was published in 2011.

Last year Home Secretary Amber Rudd set out her intention to increase the maximum sentence for people who repeatedly view terrorist content online to 15 years.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The updated counter-terrorism strategy, which is still being finalised, will be a comprehensive and cross-cutting response to the evolving threat from domestic and international terrorism.

"The home secretary has made crystal clear her determination to leave no safe space for terrorists to act or recruit and to keep our families, communities and country safe." </s> The terror threat level in the UK has been reduced from critical to severe and soldiers deployed to key sites around the country will begin to be withdrawn from Monday, Theresa May has said.

The prime minister said Operation Temperer, in which military personnel were deployed to bolster security in the wake of the Manchester bombing, would be scaled back after the bank holiday weekend.

Security officials had advised the government to raise the terror threat to critical, which means they believe an attack is imminent, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday.

Additional resources were deployed to help with the investigation into the attack and provide greater security at a host of weekend events. It is normal for a critical terror threat level to be maintained for just a few days.

May said: “The public should be clear about what this means. A threat level of severe means an attack remains highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee on Saturday, she said the decision had been taken after “a significant amount of police activity” over the last 24 hours.

The Manchester bombing was the worst terror attack to hit Britain since the 7 July attacks in London in 2005.

On Saturday a street in Manchester’s Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terrorism officers and controlled explosives were used in a raid on a property in Cheetham Hill.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning. A witness said a bomb-disposal van was parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

Two men aged 20 and 22 were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning at the Cheetham Hill address, police said. Neighbours identified Yahya and Mohamed Werfalli, aged 20 and 22, as two of the occupants of the raided house. They were said to be of Libyan descent and part of the same friendship groups as the Manchester bomber.

Police have not confirmed the identities of any of those arrested in connection with the investigation. Eleven people remain in custody.

On Saturday afternoon Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, said officers had carried out 17 searches, mostly in the north-west.

He told reporters: “We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb. There is still much more to do. There will be more arrests.

“There will be more searches but the greater clarity and progress has led JTAC, the independent body which assesses threat, to the judgment that an attack is no longer imminent.”

The threat level was raised on Tuesday over fears the network linked to Abedi was at large, possibly with access to further explosives and intent on attacking again.

The decision to drop the threat level down one grade to severe means intelligence analysts are satisfied that risk is now under sufficient control.

On Friday, Rowley said: “We have already got a large part of the network including some very significant arrests and some significant finds. Clearly, we haven’t covered all the territory we want to but we have covered a large part of it so our confidence has been increasing on recent days. But there’s still more to do to get the degree of confidence we want.”

By Saturday morning analysts at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which sets the threat level, were satisfied the danger posed by the network linked to the Manchester bomber had lessened through arrests and also after examination of materials seized after a string on raids starting on Tuesday.

There is still concern among counter-terrorism officials about the network linked to Abedi, the Guardian understands, but JTAC believes this is insufficient to state an attack may be imminent.

Although the threat level has been scaled back, Rowley said there would still be a heightened security presence at events over the bank holiday weekend.

In a statement on Saturday afternoon he said: “For practical reasons and precautionary reasons, we made the decision that the resources that we had planned for this weekends events will continue. They will still see that high level of policing presence – some armed, some unarmed.”

But he added that after the bank holiday the range of additional resources deployed in the wake of the Manchester attack would be stepped down. He added that the military support would also be “phased out” in the coming days.

The threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The two months since 22 March, when five people including the attacker died in an attack on Westminster, have seen a particularly high level of activity by terrorists.



A total of seven attack plots are publicly known about, with two causing casualties, in Westminster and Manchester. Five more were disrupted and arrests made; four in London and one in Birmingham.

The investigation into the Manchester attack continues and is being carried out by counter-terrorism officers and the domestic security service MI5. </s> The National Police Chiefs’ Council in Britain called the leaks a breach of trust, adding, “This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counterterrorism investigation.” The disclosure of potential evidence “undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families,” it added.

On Thursday, Manchester’s top police official, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, joined the chorus of criticism, saying that the disclosure “has caused much distress for families that are already suffering terribly with their loss.”

Earlier in the day, the BBC reported that the Manchester police would no longer share details of the investigation with American counterparts. But on Thursday evening, after Mrs. May had new assurances from Mr. Trump, the police announced that intelligence sharing had resumed — if it had ever stopped in the first place.

Mark Rowley, an assistant commissioner in charge of counterterrorism at Scotland Yard and an officer on the Police Chiefs’ Council, said in a statement issued later on Thursday that “while we do not usually comment on information-sharing arrangements with international law enforcement organizations, we want to emphasize that, having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance.” (Along with the United States and Britain, the other countries in the alliance are New Zealand, Australia and Canada.)

The Times said in a statement:

The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes, as The Times and other media outlets have done following terrorist acts around the world, from Boston to Paris to Baghdad, and many places in between. Our mission is to cover news and inform our readers. We have strict guidelines on how and in what ways we cover sensitive stories. Our coverage of Monday’s horrific attack has been both comprehensive and responsible. We cover stories about terrorism from all angles. Not only stories about victims but also how terrorist groups work, their sources of funding, how they recruit. Acts of terrorism have tremendous impact on how we live, on how we are governed and how we interact as people, communities and nations. At times the process of reporting this coverage comes at personal risk to our reporters. We do it because it is core to our mission.

Mr. Trump has viewed leaks differently at different times depending on whether they helped or hurt him. During last year’s presidential campaign, he not only capitalized on the disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, he publicly called on Russian hackers to unearth and publicize even more of them. “I love WikiLeaks,” he said at one point, praising the group that made public many of the emails.

But since taking office, Mr. Trump has been increasingly frustrated by information coming out of his own White House. Details of his conversation with Russian officials and of his telephone calls with the leaders of Mexico, Australia and, just this week, the Philippines have spilled into public view. Leaked information about a telephone call between Michael T. Flynn, his first national security adviser, and Russia’s ambassador forced the president to fire Mr. Flynn.

Mr. Trump’s own aides also routinely leak about one another in the latest palace intrigue.

In recent days, anonymously sourced articles about Mr. Trump’s private conversations with and about James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired, have fueled investigations into his associates’ ties with Russia. After The Times reported that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to shut down an investigation into Mr. Flynn, the Justice Department felt compelled to appoint a special counsel to take over the Russia investigation. </s> In a bid to protect the public, officers will reportedly be able to swoop in and fast-track terror suspects to justice before attack plans are finalised.

Documents leaked to The Sunday Times reveal security services will be able to disrupt terror plots at at earlier stage after atrocities in Manchester, at London Bridge and Westminster claimed the lives of 35 people last year.

Of the five extremists involved in the attacks, three of them were among a whopping 23,000 on the radar of security services.

The plan in a 120-page draft of the Government’s counterterrorism strategy calls for more focus on “communities where the threat from terrorism and radicalisation is highest”.

Authorities have come under fire for targeting young Muslims at risk of extremism through the Prevent strategy, but the new approach will result in "more than double the number" of young radicals over the next year. </s> The terror threat level has been reduced as fresh arrests and raids have been carried out linked to the Manchester suicide bombing.

Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from Monday onwards, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the terror threat level to “critical” - its highest level - meaning a further terror attack was considered “imminent”.

It has now been reduced to ‘severe’, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, Mrs May said the decision had been taken after ‘a significant amount of police activity’ over the last 24 hours.

She said: “The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

The massacre at the Manchester Arena carried out by Salman Abedi, in which 22 people were killed, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

The terror threat had been at critical for the first time in a decade.

Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.

She said: “To provide maximum reassurance to the public, Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.

“Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties.”

The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester’s Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Abedi.

Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.

“I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out,” she told the Press Association.

An example of the anxiety and high alert felt by people was seen in Durham, where a city centre street was cordoned off and evacuated after a car was illegally parked and thought to be suspicious.

Manchester’s Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The change in the national threat level from critical to severe does not alter our response to Monday’s horrific attack, which claimed so many innocent lives.

“We have made significant progress in this fast-moving and complex investigation, working with the national counter terrorism policing network and UK intelligence partners and securing the arrests of 11 people who remain in custody.

“The level of resources we have available to us remains the same as we continue to take positive action so you will notice additional officers, including armed officers, on patrol especially at a number of events this weekend to ensure the security and safety of everyone but it’s important that people remain alert and vigilant.

“You can report any suspicious activity to police on the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or by calling 999.” </s> Britain was braced for further terrorist attacks following the Manchester atrocity as Theresa May said the threat level was being raised to its highest possible rating.

In a live televised statement from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said the terror threat level would be increased to “critical”, meaning an attack was expected imminently as it was possible a “wider group of individuals” could have been involved in the Manchester Arena attack rather than just suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

In a sign of the increased threat, the military could be deployed to support armed police officers, Mrs May said.

Monday night’s attack at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande left 22 people dead, including an eight-year-old girl, and dozens injured.

Speaking at Number 10, Mrs May said: “The spirit of Manchester and the spirit of Britain is far mightier than the sick plots of depraved terrorists. That is why the terrorists will never win and we will prevail.”

Mrs May will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee at 9.30am on Wednesday, Downing Street has announced.

The suicide bomber has been named as Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old man believed to have been born in Manchester and of Libyan descent.

Abedi studied business at Salford University but dropped out before completing his degree.

He is thought to have attended the Manchester Islamic Centre, also known as Didsbury Mosque, along with his parents and siblings.

A family friend, who asked not to be named, described him as “normal” and said they were known to the Libyan community in the city.

He told the Press Association: “He was always friendly, nothing to suggest (he was violent). He was normal, to be honest.”

Abedi was named after armed officers carried out a raid on the red brick semi in south Manchester where he was registered as living.

The terror threat level was increased after investigations revealed Abedi may not have acted alone.

Mrs May said: “The work undertaken throughout the day has revealed that it is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack.

“This morning I said that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the independent organisation responsible for setting the threat level on the basis of the intelligence available, was keeping the threat level under constant review.

“It has now concluded, on the basis of today’s investigations, that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical.

“This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent.”

The Prime Minister said Operation Temperer – allowing military personnel to take to the streets – was now in force.

“This means that armed police officers responsible for duties such as guarding key sites will be replaced by members of the armed forces, which will allow the police to significantly increase the number of armed officers on patrol in key locations.

“You might also see military personnel deployed at certain events such as concerts and sports matches, helping the police to keep the public safe.” </s> Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Cressida Dick, said:

“This is an utterly appalling attack. My thoughts are with the people of Manchester as they try to come to terms with the horrific events that took place in their city last night.Our colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and their emergency services showed huge bravery as they ran towards the confusion and danger.

“We are providing every possible support through the counter terrorism network as investigators work tirelessly to understand what has happened.

“Here in the Capital we put extra police officers on duty as Londoners started their journeys into work. This will continue for as long as it is needed, and the mix of armed and unarmed officers are there to reassure.

“Looking ahead to the weekend - a normal busy and vibrant weekend in our city - we are working with all those planning events to make sure we are doing all we can.

“Terrorists seek to spread fear and undermine our way of life. We must work together to stop that from happening. If you have suspicions, tell us; if you see something that concerns you, report it. Together we can protect London.” </s> MANCHESTER, England, May 24 (Reuters) - Soldiers were being deployed to key sites in Britain on Wednesday to prevent attacks after the terror threat level was raised to its highest level following a suicide bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people, including children.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced late on Tuesday that the threat level was now considered "critical", meaning an attack may be imminent.

Police had earlier named British-born Salman Abedi, 22, as the perpetrator of the bombing at the Manchester Arena indoor venue at the end of a concert by U.S. pop singer Ariana Grande on Monday, attended by thousands of children and teenagers.

The bombing wounded 59 people. Some have life-threatening injuries.

"This is a fast moving investigation and we continue to have significant resources in place," Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling of Greater Manchester Police said.

"Raising the threat level to critical ... will support our ongoing operation," he said in a statement.

The Manchester attack was the deadliest in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's transport network.

U.S. security sources, citing British intelligence officials, said Abedi was born in Manchester to parents of Libyan origin.

May said it was possible a wider group was linked to the bombing, prompting the deployment of troops a little more than two weeks before a national election.

An independent body which sets the threat level recommended it be raised to "critical" from "severe" for the first time since June 2007.

"This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but that a further attack may be imminent," May said in a televised statement from her Downing Street Office after a meeting of the government's crisis response committee.

"Armed police officers responsible for duties such as guarding key sites will be replaced by members of the armed forces ... You might also see military personnel deployed at certain events, such as concerts and sports matches."

Britain's top anti-terrorism officer Mark Rowley said events would only go ahead when it was safe to do so and the decision to raise the threat level had been made on a "precautionary basis" due to gaps in police knowledge while the investigation continues.

He told reporters he hoped that, as has previously been the case, the level would not stay at critical for a long period. </s> Manchester, England (CNN) Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi likely received some ISIS training in Syria in the months before the attack, according to information gathered in the preliminary investigation, a US official told CNN on Thursday.

The US believes ISIS, through that training, set the stage for the 22-year old to carry out the deadly attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday night, which killed 22 people as they left a pop concert.

Other members of Abedi's family are believed to have been radicalized as well, the official said.

More details are emerging about the British-born killer, who spent time in Libya before the attack and transited through Istanbul and Dusseldorf airports, as police focus on tracking down his associates.

Authorities have made multiple arrests including the bomber's brother, who was detained in Libya.

JUST WATCHED UK angry over Manchester attack leaks Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH UK angry over Manchester attack leaks 02:38

The latest revelations come as intelligence sharing between the US and the UK resumed after a temporary halt following a series of high-profile leaks to US media of details surrounding the Manchester bombing investigation, which were blamed on US government officials.

US-UK tensions

Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner of Britain National Police Chiefs Council, said after receiving "fresh assurances," the UK was now "working closely" its key partners, "including all those in the ' Five Eyes' intelligence alliance."

Under 'Five Eyes,' the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand share intelligence in one of the world's tightest multilateral arrangements.

US sources were the first to reveal the identity of the bomber, leading to concern that police efforts to hunt down his associates could be impacted.

British Prime Minister Theresa May confronted President Donald Trump about the leaks during their meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.

In a written statement, President Trump described the leaks as "deeply troubling" and ordered an investigation. He added that,"There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press the point during his first official visit to the UK on Friday.

Tillerson will meet with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson "in an expression of UK-US solidarity following the terrorist attack in Manchester earlier this week," a Foreign Office statement said. The two men will write condolence messages for the victims.

JUST WATCHED Queen Elizabeth II visits attack victims Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Queen Elizabeth II visits attack victims 00:52

'Significant' arrests

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters Thursday eight men had been arrested at addresses in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton. These arrests are "significant," he said, with searches having "revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation."

On Thursday, a large cordon was set up for a time around a location in Wigan, where an arrest was made a day earlier, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

A raid and search have been ongoing due to the discovery of "potentially suspicious items" and evacuations took place as a "matter of precaution."

Investigators are tracking down associates of Abedi, a British-born national of Libyan descent who was known to intelligence services, saying it is clear they are investigating a network.

A Turkish official said Abedi had transited through Istanbul's Ataturk airport "recently" and did not enter Turkey. The official, who did not want to be named due to government protocol, said he could not confirm where Abedi arrived from or was traveling to. He did say, however, that it could not have been Syria because there are no flights to or from Syria from Istanbul.

The official said Turkey had not received any information from foreign intelligence services about Abedi, so he did not raise any red flags.

Police in Dusseldorf confirmed that Abedi traveled through Dusseldorf Airport in Germany on his way to Manchester a few days before the attack. The suspect was in transit only in the security area.

Abedi 'behaved like a child'

According to a family friend who asked not to be identified, the boys' father had taken his sons to Libya in mid-April and confiscated their passports so they couldn't return to the UK where they'd been in trouble with gangs.

Abedi got his passport back after telling his father he was going on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, but returned to England instead. Abedi was in Libya for three weeks and returned days before his attack, US military officials told CNN.

Hashim Ramadan Abu Qassem al-Abedi, a brother of Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was arrested in Tripoli, Libya, May 23.

In Libya, Abedi's brother -- identified as 20-year-old Hashim Ramadan Abu Qassem al-Abedi -- was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of links to ISIS, according to a statement from a Tripoli militia known as the Special Deterrence Force.

Abdullah Muhsin Norris, chairman of Salaam Community Masjid, a community center in Manchester, told CNN he got into an argument with Abedi in January. Apprently, Abedi wanted to stay after prayers and was wearing his shoes. "Anyway I quarrelled with him and the way he behaved he said I shouldn't shout at him I said, 'I shout at you because you behaved like a child," Norris said.

Armed officers patrol trains

British Transport Police announced Thursday that "specially trained firearms officers will be patrolling on board train services for the first time." It comes after Britain raised the threat level to critical -- the highest in a decade -- and deployed armed soldiers to support police.

"It is important to note that we do not have any specific intelligence in relation to train services but are taking this action to ensure we can protect and reassure the public," BTP Chief Constable Paul Crowther said.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Children's Hospital, where some of the wounded are being treated. Speaking to the father of an injured girl by her hospital bed, the Queen said the attack was "a very wicked thing."

Among the 22 victims were parents, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, colleagues and classmates. Some were waiting to collect their children, others were enjoying what should have been a fun night of pop music.

A moment of silence was held Thursday morning as the United Kingdom continued to come to terms with its worst terror attack since the 2005 London bombings.

Manchester hospitals are still treating 75 people in the aftermath of Monday's bombing attack, including 23 in critical care, according to a statement from NHS England.
Following recent attacks in Manchester and London, The Sunday Times says a leaked Home Office report reviewing the attacks proposes a new strategy increasing information sharing on terror suspects from MI5 to other organisations before they are considered to require surveillance. Also included are harsher sentences for terror offences, and additional attention on "communities where the threat from terrorism and radicalisation is highest".