LONDON — Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police, stated that threats from hostile states and online radicalization are escalating concerns. The Metropolitan Police raised the United Kingdom's threat level from "substantial" to "severe" in April.

Evans said the threat from hostile states is the "most rapidly escalating mission" for counterterrorism police. Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism police, noted that while Islamic extremism remains the primary threat to the UK, dangers from far-right groups and hostile states have significantly grown over the past five years.

In 2025, over 20 Iranian-backed plots, including assassinations, kidnappings, and other serious crimes, were directed against the UK. Police are investigating potential links between arson attacks against Jewish sites earlier this year and Iran. A judge stated that the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station in July, which resulted in the jailing of two Romanian men, was carried out on behalf of Iran's government.

Other incidents include the conviction of a UK border official and a former Hong Kong police officer in May for spying for China. Additionally, a Ukrainian man and a Romanian man were jailed in June for setting fire to property connected to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Evans said, "Russia has been organizing a constant stream of surveillance plots against people and institutions in Britain, aiming to target people Russian officials believe are enemies, infiltrate ordinary life and identify people who will peddle Russian narratives or carry out proxy work on behalf of the Russian state."

Russia has recruited individuals on platforms like Telegram to conduct acts of vandalism or start fires across Europe. Dylan Earl, who was recruited on Telegram by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization acting on behalf of Moscow, was identified as the ringleader of a plot to set fire to a London warehouse storing communications equipment destined for Ukraine. The UK government has designated the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. Teenagers as young as 15 have been arrested in connection with proxy plots.

Evans also addressed online radicalization, stating, "There is a “continual battle” against threats online, and police need help from technology companies because it's not something we can do alone." Taylor noted that Alfie Coleman, 22, sentenced to 13.5 years in July for attempting to buy a gun from an undercover MI5 officer, was radicalized online from age 14. Alina Burns, 18, was imprisoned for almost 20 years in May after attacking a stranger with an ax; Taylor stated her attack was motivated by her extreme right-wing mindset.