Head of MI5 says Islamic State threat still exists

THE threat from the Islamic State “movement” will persist for years to come despite its territorial losses in Iraq and Syria, the head of MI5 has warned.

Andrew Parker said the group — which he referred to by the name Daesh — is “seeking to regroup” after coming under sustained military pressure.

In a speech in Berlin, he said Europe faces an “intense, unrelenting and multi-dimensional terrorist threat”.

IS continues to pose the most acute threat, but al Qaida and other Islamist terrorist groups “haven’t gone away”, the director general of the domestic security agency said.

He added that alongside police, MI5 is also actively “monitoring the trajectory” of extreme right-wing terrorism.

The “unprecedented tempo” of attack planning in Britain shows no signs of abating, Mr Parker said, and revealed that since the Westminster atrocity last March, police and security services have foiled 12 Islamist plots, and described the threat as three dimensional, with plots germinating at home, abroad and online.