By By Gemma Fox Jan 22, 2010 in World The Home Office in the UK has announced tonight that the UK terror threat level has been raised from 'substantial' to 'severe'. The JTAC, based with MI5, gathers information and capabilities about international terrorists and monitors their intentions. UK terror threat levels: Low - attack is unlikely Moderate - attack is possible, but not likely Substantial - attack is a strong possibility Severe - attack is highly likely Critical - attack is expected imminently Breaking News on BBC News quotes the Home Secretary Alan Johnson as saying, "We still face a real and serious threat to the UK from international terrorism, so I would urge the public to remain vigilant and carry on reporting suspicious events to the appropriate authorities and to support the police and security services in their continuing efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity." He said that the level was not raised specifically because of the failed terror attempt in Detroit, USA. He continues, "We have a very adept and very focused counter terrorism facility in this country, which consists of many police officers as well as security officers, so the public should be reassured by that." The raising of the terror threat level brings it up to almost the same level as the USA currently sits. The Department of Homeland Security said, "The UK is raising their measures to effectively where we are with the airport security measures that we have taken and announced over the last few weeks. We have enhanced our security measures and communicated specific information to industry, law enforcement and the American people." The Home Office in the UK ask the public to be more vigilant and contact the police if there is any activity they find suspicious. The UK's terror threat level has stood at 'substantial' since July 09 but has now been raised which means the Home Office believe that a terrorist attack in the UK is highly likely.The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) was behind the decision as they recommended that the threat level in the UK should be raised. It's believed to be in response to the increased threat from international terrorism following last months failed bombing in Detroit.JTAC, based with MI5, gathers information and capabilities about international terrorists and monitors their intentions.UK terror threat levels:Breaking News on Twitter suggests that the threat level has been raised due to the Afghan conference due to start in London on January 28.BBC News quotes the Home Secretary Alan Johnson as saying, "We still face a real and serious threat to the UK from international terrorism, so I would urge the public to remain vigilant and carry on reporting suspicious events to the appropriate authorities and to support the police and security services in their continuing efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity."He said that the level was not raised specifically because of the failed terror attempt in Detroit, USA.He continues, "We have a very adept and very focused counter terrorism facility in this country, which consists of many police officers as well as security officers, so the public should be reassured by that."The raising of the terror threat level brings it up to almost the same level as the USA currently sits. The Department of Homeland Security said, "The UK is raising their measures to effectively where we are with the airport security measures that we have taken and announced over the last few weeks. We have enhanced our security measures and communicated specific information to industry, law enforcement and the American people."The Home Office in the UK ask the public to be more vigilant and contact the police if there is any activity they find suspicious. More about Terrorism, Threat, Afghan, Terrorist, Mi5 More news from terrorism threat afghan terrorist mi5 jtac