U.K. terror threat high, top officer warns

LONDON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Britain faces its worst terrorism threat in three years, London's police boss says.

Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said the danger is "global, diverse and sometimes unpredictable," the BBC reported.

Speaking to security professionals at the Royal United Services Institute, Stephenson said the threat comes from a "dangerous resurgence" in Irish Republican groups and right-wing extremists as well as Islamic groups like al-Qaida.

"This is undoubtedly as dangerous a time as we have seen for the U.K., and U.K. interests abroad, since the attempted attacks on the Tiger-Tiger nightclub in London and Glasgow airport in 2007. There can be no complacency," he said.

Two car bombs were found outside the nightspot, and a vehicle loaded with propane was crashed into an airport building.

Stephenson said some of his predecessors had "strayed inadvertently and perhaps unintentionally" into debates over counter-terrorism powers, but he would leave that to politicians.

He said police should "inform the debate" about stop-and-search powers, pre-charge detention and DNA retention, however.