11:35Our defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, reports Britain will be on the lookout for potential copycat attacks in the UK:Intelligence agencies in the UK are expected to be “particularly vigilant” in the aftermath of the Vienna attack, which comes on the heels of a string of violent incidents in France and two days before a lockdown is due to begin in England. It is well-established that terror attacks in one country encourage copy cats elsewhere, although the overall number of jihadist plots in the European Union (including the UK) has been gradually declining as Isis was gradually rolled up in Syria and Iraq. There were 21 such plots last year, down from 24 according to data collected by European policing agency Europol, 14 of which were foiled and four of which failed. Intelligence sources added it was unclear, at this stage, if the attacks in Austria were timed to coincide with the last night before the start of a lockdown, when more people than usual would have been out in the evening and on the streets. But it would be prudent to take into account that timing in the run-up to the start of the England-wide lockdown expected to begin at just after midnight, in the small hours of Thursday.

Source: The Guardian November 02, 2020 21:18 UTC