Expert’s chilling prediction for Britain: ‘We are long overdue an attack’

BRITAIN is "long overdue" a terrorist attack and the nation has been told to prepare for a "tragic day", a leading counter-terrorism expert has warned.

Anti-extremist Maajid Nawaz, the founder of the Quilliam think tank, made the prediction in the wake of the terrorist attack in Nice which has left at least 84 people dead and many more wounded, some critically.

Mr Nawaz, himself a former member of a radical Islamist group, has said the UK must be aware of the fact an attack like the one in Nice is likely to occur in Britain soon.

Speaking on BBC’s Daily Politics, Mr Nawaz said that while it is harder for terrorists to carry out an attack in the UK, the nation must be realistic. 

He said: "I think part of the reason [for the lack of a recent attack in the UK] is the fact there is the English Channel in the middle and we have always controlled out own borders.

"That makes it harder to get here but also to acquire guns for those here already.

"I must say we are long overdue an attack, I just want the nation to be prepared for the tragic day something like that happens here soon.

"I’ve been long saying it is overdue and I’m frankly surprised it hasn’t happened."

Mr Nawaz turned his back on extremism to set up the Quilliam Foundation to counter extremism in the UK and is now one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of Islamic extremism.

It is not yet known whether Islamic State is behind the attack in Nice.

ISIS channels online have reportedly told their supporters to "await" confirmation it was behind the atrocity through an announcement by Amaq – its media wing.

World leaders have united to condemn the attack in Nice, with new prime minister Theresa May ordering a Cobra meeting on just her second day in office.

Speaking about the risk to the UK she said: “The threat level here in the United Kingdom is already at severe — that means that a terrorist attack is highly likely

"Senior officials today will be reviewing what more we can do to ascertain whether there is any further action we need to take.

"But our security services and our police are ever-vigilant and, as I say, the threat level here is already at a level which says that a terrorist attack is highly likely."