Northern Ireland Terror Alert Lowered for First Time Since 2010, UK Minister Says

LONDON (Sputnik) - The terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland has been reduced from "severe" to "substantial" for the first time in 12 years, the UK secretary of state for the UK province Brandon Lewis said on Tuesday.

“Today I have announced that the Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level has been lowered from SEVERE to SUBSTANTIAL,” Lewis said on Twitter, adding that this is the first time the threat level has been changed since 2010.

The UK minister said that the change shows the significant progress that Northern Ireland has made, and continues to make, “towards a more peaceful, more prosperous and safer society.”

“It is a testament to the tremendous efforts of the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] and MI5 [the UK’s Security Service] and their hard won gains over the last decade,” he stressed.

The UK´s five levels of threat go from low to critical, with "substantial" meaning that a terrorist attack is likely and might well occur without further warning.