Terrorism in the United Kingdom, according to the Home Office, poses a significant threat to the state. 1834 people were arrested in the United Kingdom from September 2001 to December 2009 in connection with terrorism, of which 422 were charged with terrorism-related offences and 237 were convicted.
The British government has designated 58 organisations as terrorist and banned them. 44 of these organisations were banned under the Terrorism Act of 2000. Two of these were also banned under the Terrorism Act of 2006 for "glorifying terrorism." Other than the far-right neo-Nazi National Action, the other fourteen organisations operate (for the most part) in Northern Ireland, and were banned under previous legislation.
International organisations the government has designated as terrorist and banned are:
Irish organisations the British government has banned are:
There have been many historically significant terrorist incidents within the United Kingdom, from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to the various attacks related to The Troubles of Northern Ireland. In recent history, the UK security services have focused on the threat posed by radical Islamic militant organisations within the UK, such as the cell responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings.
The Sun newspaper obtained a leaked memo from the British government, originally dating 17 January, in late January 2007 detailing a proposed plan to place X-ray cameras in lampposts to see through clothes and identify terrorists. The memo says Home Office officials believe "detection of weapons and explosives will become easier... The social acceptability of routine intrusive detection measures and the operational response required in the event of an alarm are likely to be limiting factors." The Home Office did not comment on the memo. On 29 August 2014, the British government launched a raft of counter-terrorism measures as the terrorist threat level was raised to "severe". Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May warned a terrorist attack was "highly likely", following the coming to prominence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).