Britain to E-Mail Terror Threat Alerts

LONDON, Jan. 9 -- The British government is offering an e-mail bulletin service to notify people of changes to the nation's terror threat level, a development that illustrates increasing fears of extremist attacks in Britain and the rising power of digital communications.

The domestic security agency, MI5, announced the new service Tuesday and said it will also provide e-mail bulletins on "major developments in national security affairs." It plans to add a service providing the same information in text messages to cellphones, officials said. People would have to register on the MI5 Web site to receive the alerts.

"It is important that we are as open as possible with the general public about security matters," said Phyllis Starkey, a member of Parliament from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party.

Britain began disclosing the terror threat level to the public only last August, following government inquiries into the official handling of the July 2005 attacks on London's public transit system. After those attacks, in which 52 passengers and four bombers were killed and about 700 people injured, investigators concluded that the government did a poor job of communicating with the public about potential security threats.

In August, the government began posting the threat level on the MI5 Web site and a new government Web site ( http://www.intelligence.gov.uk) set up to disseminate information about security matters. The new system was used that month for the first time when officials uncovered an alleged plot to blow up jetliners flying from Britain to the United States. The threat level was increased from severe, which means an attack is highly likely, to critical, which means an attack is expected imminently.

Although the threat has since been reduced again to severe, British officials continue to warn that religious extremists are aggressively plotting new attacks in Britain. In November, the head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, said in an unusual public speech that the agency was monitoring 30 potential terrorist plots involving more than 200 radical groups and 1,600 suspects who were "actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist acts."

Last month, Home Secretary John Reid warned that a terrorist attack in Britain was "highly likely" during the Christmas holidays. None occurred.

Starkey said the widespread use of computers and cellphones allows the government to communicate information about potential threats far faster now. She recalled the days when the government placed posters in public places asking people to be vigilant for activity by the Irish Republican Army.

"This is a rather more effective technology," she said. "And if individuals are aware of an imminent threat, they are more likely to notice odd behavior. They are added eyes and ears for the security services."

But Starkey acknowledged that the government was also battling a "significant level of cynicism" among the public and that many people believe the government could manipulate the terror threat level for political purposes. Many Britons believe the U.S. government has used threat alerts to scare the public for political gain, she said.

"That's only added to the problem here," she said, "because it makes people in this country think our government is going down the same route."

Patrick Mercer, a Conservative member of Parliament who specializes in security issues, said the new system was "sensible" but needed improvements.

"The problem is that the only sort of people who are going to get this are big security corporations and security wonks like me," he said. "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe are not going to go on the MI5 Web site and register for this."

For a terror alert system to work efficiently, he suggested, "we've got to learn from the American model." In addition to e-mail alerts, he said, the threat level should be indicated on highway signs and broadcast on television and radio, and government Web sites and publications should also offer more specific warnings about key bridges, tunnels and other potential targets during extremely high alerts.

"All this says," he said of MI5's new system, "is: 'Terrorism is dangerous. Be afraid. Be very afraid.' "