Jeremy Hunt has warned the UK must be “on our guard” and “vigilant” following a terror attack in Russia that left 133 people dead.
The Chancellor said the UK should “absolutely” be concerned about the threat of Islamic State following the massacre at a concert hall in Moscow.
Asked if the rest of Europe – including the UK – should be “concerned” in the wake of Friday’s events, Mr Hunt said: “Absolutely. We are very lucky in this country that we have incredibly impressive intelligence agencies who have been successful in stopping, in foiling, a lot of terrorist threats over recent years.
“But we have to remain vigilant – and, you know, if it is Islamic State, they are utterly indiscriminate in what they do, they are prepared to murder in the most horrific way.”
Asked if there was a chance of the UK’s threat level being raised, Mr Hunt said this was decided by a “special system” in government, and said he was not privy to their discussions.
The UK’s threat level is currently at “substantial” – the third-highest rating, according to the Security Service, also known as MI5.
On whether the British intelligence service is prepared for terror attacks, he says “we have to be on our guard”.
Mr Hunt hit back at Russian claims that Ukraine was involved in the incident.
He said: “We have very little confidence in anything the Russian government say.,”
He says Russia is “creating a smokescreen of propaganda” and that he takes anything they say with “a massive pinch of salt”.
Kyiv has rejected any links to the incident and the US has verified the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the attack.
Alicia Kearns, Conservative chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee reported Russian media circulated deep fake videos of Ukrainian officials attempting to paint Ukraine as the mastermind behind the attack.
She said: “Russian media channels are already circulating deep fake videos of Ukrainian officials in an attempt to blame Ukraine and provide Putin some defence for the war crimes he’s committing in Ukraine or worse, pretext for further atrocities.
“There is no indication of any link to Ukraine, nor any credible reason to suggest their involvement.”
