Special forces on streets of UK amid fears Britain could be next target for Isil

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Paris attacks: Special forces on streets of UK amid fears Britain could be next target for Isil Elite Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) backing up undercover armed police officers as extra uniform police step up security at key public locations

Britain launched the largest security response since 7/7 last night as counter terrorism sources revealed up to 450 radicalised Britons have returned to the UK from Syria.

Special forces were deployed on the streets to monitor stations, shopping centres and key public places amid fears the UK could be the next target for an Isil terror outrage.

Personnel from the elite Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) were backing up undercover armed police officers to protect the UK in the wake of the Paris massacre.

It can also be disclosed that Scotland Yard is currently investigating 600 terror cases related to Syria and Iraq.

Charles Farr, director of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, said that Isil, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, was inspiring people in Britain who “couldn’t go” to its territories in Syria or Iraq to stay and “undertake attacks.”

He said that “about 750 [british citizens] of interest to the security and intelligence services” had travelled to Syria, of whom “about 60 per cent have returned.” He also said that up to 70 Britons had been killed.

The new figure, given on the eve of the Paris attacks and revealed for the first time by The Sunday Telegraph, is a dramatic rise from previous estimates which have put the figure at around 350.

Mr Farr said that that the Isis ideology and call was either to go and "join the so called Islamic State" or stay and “undertake attacks if you couldn't go".

He said this was not to be seen as “more of the same,” but was a “specific, singular and new phenomenon of Isis,” a form of “ideological grooming” of young people and a distinct ideological shift from previous Islamist inspirations.

He also said that those who were travelling were getting “much younger” than before, with more women and children.

Mr Farr's warning may explain why the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in his response to the Paris attacks, stressed that "however much we prepare, we in the UK face the same threat".

The SRR soldiers were backing up undercover armed police officers to protect the UK in the wake of the Paris outrage.

Extra police were patrolling London’s West End and social hubs this weekend after fanatics targeted restaurants and a theatre in the French capital.

Undercover police were also watching Underground and rail stations as Britain was put on high alert.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, warned the UK faced the same threat as Paris and that Isil’s ability and ambition to launch mass casualty attacks was growing.

Scotland Yard said it was urgently reviewing tactics for responding to a marauding gun assault by terrorists.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the scale of the attacks and the range of weaponry used in the French capital were a "serious cause for concern".

One defence source said of the SRR deployment: “They will be wandering around shopping centres, stations and other crowded potential targets watching what's going on. They will not be armed."

The attack in the French capital will raise concerns for those countries involved in airstrikes against Isil.

The terror group has claimed responsibility for the outrage and was behind the bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month killing all 224 people on board.

The UK was already on heightened alert for possible Islamist revenge attacks following the drone attack on Jihadi John in Syria on Thursday evening.

In a statement, Mr Cameron said: “It is clear that the threat from ISIL is evolving.

“Last night’s attack suggests a new degree of planning and co-ordination and a greater ambition for mass casualty attacks.

“And we must recognise that however strong we are, however much we prepare, we in the UK face the same threat.

“That’s why we continue to encourage the public to remain vigilant.”

More than 700 British jihadists have travelled to Syria, many to join Isil, and around half are feared to have returned.

"We have developed appropriate tactics to deal with a firearms attack in London, but we will, of course, urgently review our approach in the light of last night's act of terrorism in Paris,” he said.

"The scale of the attacks and the range of weaponry used by the terrorists are a serious cause for concern.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11995716/Paris-attacks-Britain-on-security-alert-in-wake-of-terror-attacks.html

“Last night’s attack suggests a new degree of planning and co-ordination and a greater ambition for mass casualty attacks.

“And we must recognise that however strong we are, however much we prepare, we in the UK face the same threat.

The scale of the attacks and the range of weaponry used by the terrorists are a serious cause for concern.

Paris was just a dry run .