Scotland Yard has reviewed the security arrangements for events in the UK to mark the centenary of the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign and the 99th anniversary of Anzac Day, as well as the London marathon.
Scotland Yard’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Neil Basu, said: "Ahead of a number of major public events in the UK this weekend and in light of recent alleged plans to attack Anzac Day events and police officers overseas, we are reminding the public to be vigilant.”
The warning comes after Australian counter-terror police arrested five men in Melbourne in connection with an alleged plot to unleash Islamic State-inspired attacks against police at an event to mark Anzac Day, which commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who have served and died in war.
About 650,000 spectators are expected to line the streets of London for this year’s marathon, which winds its way past the capital’s major sights including Tower bridge, Big Ben and the houses of parliament.
The joint terrorism analysis centre raised the threat level last year against a backdrop of increasing concerns over hundreds of aspiring British militants travelling to Iraq and Syria to learn terrorist "tradecraft”.
Fears of a terrorist attack on Britain’s streets heightened in the wake of the rise of ISIL, the extremist group that has taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria and attracted thousands of foreign militants to its cause, including more than 600 Britons, around half of whom have returned.