The threat to Britain from Islamist terrorism could increase in the coming years, according to an assessment by a senior Whitehall official.

The prediction forms the basis of the Government's long-awaited National Security Review which will be published later today.

"We expect the threat from Islamist terrorism to remain at its current heightened level for at least two years and it might increase further," the official said anonymously.

Despite losing most of its territory in Iraq and Syria, British intelligence officials believe Islamic State will diffuse and shift, still looking to project its threat outwards.

There are a number of cells operating across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Yemen, Nigeria and Libya.


Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsular (AQAP) still presents a significant threat to western Europe.

A new approach to national security will be unveiled in the review, called the "Fusion Doctrine".

The Doctrine is designed bring all elements of government together to tackle national security issues.

Image: Theresa May has said the Fusion Doctrine is designed for the UK to use its 'full range of capabilities'

It will extend to serious and organised crime, including the disruption of "high-harm organised crime groups and corrupt elites", a new intelligence framework, better community engagement and a national economic crime centre which will work with the private sector.

Security minister Ben Wallace told Sky News the terror threat "isn't going to go away".

"There's no quick fix to it and, in the 21st Century, threats to Britain's national security can be prosecuted through unconventional means as well as through conventional means," he said.

"The internet is tremendously empowering, for example, for the Islamist terrorist groups, even the extreme right-wing, who manage to learn new tricks every day.

"They can share vulnerabilities they spot in Western societies and exploit them.

"We don't think that any time soon this is going to disappear and that's why we need to make sure we bring together the other parts of government to tackle this threat head on."

Mr Wallace revealed new counter-terror legislation, to be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks and months, will include longer sentencing for existing terror offences.

The Government also aims to crack down on loopholes in current laws, with Mr Wallace highlighting how it is illegal to download terror content and manuals, but it is much harder to prosecute extremists who stream the same material.

In the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack, ministers also want greater powers for border officials and police to stop people entering Britain suspected of being spies from "hostile" states, such as Russia.

Image: Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told Russia to 'go away and shut up' after the spy poisoning in Salisbury

The Prime Minister described the "Fusion Doctrine" as designed to make use of the "full range of capabilities".

Theresa May said: "As this report sets out, we have agreed a new approach to the orchestration of our national security capabilities.

"Based on the new Fusion Doctrine, this approach will ensure that in defending our national security we make better use of all of our capabilities: from economic levers, through cutting-edge military resources to our wider diplomatic and cultural influence on the world's stage.

"Every part of our government and every one of our agencies has its part to play.

"As long as we defend our interests and stand up for our values, there will continue to be those who seek to undermine or attack us. But these people should be in no doubt that we will use every capability at our disposal to defeat them."

The review will not include the outcomes of a separate defence strand that is being carried out by the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson successfully argued for the defence element to be spun off to resist possible cuts.

It is due to be published in the summer.



It has also been revealed that the UK shared unprecedented levels of intelligence with partners in recent days, to convince them Russia was to blame for the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

The national security adviser Mark Sedwill travelled to Brussels on at least three occasions and presented the evidence gathered by the security services and the scientific analysis reached by the MOD laboratories at Porton Down.

The open approach has been credited with changing the minds of some sceptical countries.