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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| MI5 to send e-mail terror alerts | MI5 to send e-mail terror alerts |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A system sending e-mail terror alerts to the public is being launched by security chiefs at MI5. | A system sending e-mail terror alerts to the public is being launched by security chiefs at MI5. |
| People will be able to register on the MI5 website to receive updates when the threat level changes. | People will be able to register on the MI5 website to receive updates when the threat level changes. |
| The initiative follows considerable interest in similar information for the public introduced in August on the MI5 and Home Office websites. | The initiative follows considerable interest in similar information for the public introduced in August on the MI5 and Home Office websites. |
| MI5 chief Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller recently warned that it was tracking at least 30 terror plots against the UK. | MI5 chief Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller recently warned that it was tracking at least 30 terror plots against the UK. |
| Whitehall says the move to introduce e-mail terror alerts has been in the pipeline for a while. | Whitehall says the move to introduce e-mail terror alerts has been in the pipeline for a while. |
| Members of the public can also register to be notified of any other new information posted on the MI5 website. | Members of the public can also register to be notified of any other new information posted on the MI5 website. |
| Text plans | Text plans |
| The Home Office says it is part of a long-planned programme of reaching out to the public and keeping it better informed about the terrorist threat. | The Home Office says it is part of a long-planned programme of reaching out to the public and keeping it better informed about the terrorist threat. |
| Plans to extend the service to sending text messages to mobile phones are also being considered. | Plans to extend the service to sending text messages to mobile phones are also being considered. |
| There will be two types of service on offer initially. | There will be two types of service on offer initially. |
| The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Correra explained people were "not actually getting anymore information than they can get at the moment" but "that information is being made more easily available". | |
| In the world of terrorism there is a realisation they need to be more public BBC security correspondent Gordon Correra | |
| "They [MI5] are kind of feeling their way into engaging with the public more and that's partly that what they used to do was so closed and so secret - the world of espionage and spies," he said. | |
| "But in the world of terrorism there is a realisation they need to be more public." | |
| But he added that one of the difficult questions was what people should do about the information when they receive it: "There's not necessarily that much information on the website about how you should act and how you should respond other than being vigilant and calling a hotline if you see anything suspicious." | |
| Text messages will update the public on threat levels | Text messages will update the public on threat levels |
| The first, called Threat Level Only, will inform the recipient if the nationwide terror threat level changes. The condition is currently listed as severe. | The first, called Threat Level Only, will inform the recipient if the nationwide terror threat level changes. The condition is currently listed as severe. |
| The second more inclusive service is called What's New, and will be a digest of the latest information from MI5, including speeches made by the director general and links to relevant websites. | The second more inclusive service is called What's New, and will be a digest of the latest information from MI5, including speeches made by the director general and links to relevant websites. |
| The level of the terror threat to the UK is assessed by the government's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. | The level of the terror threat to the UK is assessed by the government's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre. |
| The current threat is set at the second highest level, "severe", which means an attack is considered "highly likely". | The current threat is set at the second highest level, "severe", which means an attack is considered "highly likely". |
| In November, Dame Eliza, MI5's director general, warned the terror threat was "serious" and "growing", and that 1,600 individuals were being kept under surveillance. | In November, Dame Eliza, MI5's director general, warned the terror threat was "serious" and "growing", and that 1,600 individuals were being kept under surveillance. |
| Steve Aukstakalnis works for a company in the United States, Alerts USA, which provides a similar service. | |
| He told BBC Five Live: "We'll send an initial 'heads-up' message via the text, but you're limited to about 130 characters in that message. | |
| "We follow this up with streaming audio - both live and on demand - which gives additional details, event analysis, further response guidance where necessary and so on, to provide a little bit more of a robust service." |