Cameron: Paris showed extent of IS terror plots

The prime minister said he and other members of the Privy Council have been briefed by the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

He said that the recent attack in Paris, when IS attackers killed 130 people, showed how high the IS threat is to the UK.

“Paris wasn’t different because it was so close to us. It showed the extent of terror planning in Syria and how they are sending people back to Europe [to attack]. This was the head of the snake from Raqqa in action. The judgment of the JIC is that the risk of a similar attack in the UK is real. The UK is in the top tier of ISIL’s target list.

“If there is an attack on the UK in the coming weeks and months people will say it is because of air strikes. But ISIL has been trying to attack us for the past year – we know that from the seven plots foiled by our security services.”