Following the Manchester bombing, counter-terrorism consultant Andy Oppenheimer looks at how we can defend ourselves against attacks.

TWO days after the Manchester terrorist atrocity the Government raised the UK terror threat level from severe to critical*.

It comes amid fears that further attacks may be imminent with counter-terrorist units attempting to round up suspects in the network believed to have organised the attack. The public should feel reassured that the stationing of nearly 1,000 troops will free up our highly trained specialist, armed police units and special forces.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remain the weapon or choice for terrorists. The instruction, planning and execution of the Manchester attack would also have involved a degree of training, fabrication skills and a network including a bomb maker.

Therefore, the lone wolf notion is now less applicable. It is more accurate to call them self-starter cells: small, linked groups of radicalised individuals exhorted to launch attacks and to enable the supply of weapons and explosive. A level of sophistication in the Manchester device indicates possible foreign training. We are now faced with hundreds of returnees from Syria, some battle hardened and trained in explosives.

But can an we stop this vile cult? Such attacks are inspired by the evil death cult of Daesh (and al-Qaeda) mainly online – but also within communities and contacts. Daesh implore to carry out attacks – using whatever comes to hand – against targets which reflect our Western lifestyle. They hate our liberal values, openness, and freedoms. Now is the fight back. We can’t leave everything to the agencies who work 24/7 to protect us. We do not live in a police state: they can’t arrest and detain people without due cause. We know internment ended badly in The Troubles, as it actually served as a recruiting sergeant for the IRA.

We have great organisations like the anti-extremist Quilliam Foundation, working with communities and agencies to reverse the cancer of jihadist radicalisation. They often comprise former violent jihadists who understand the processes that foster extremism and can communicate on that level with families and communities. The aim: to challenge and defuse the toxic IS ideology at its roots – to provide an alternative narrative to their children and to tackle resistance to integration and other grievances that may lead to radicalisation.

We have the best Army, police, counter-IED and counter-terror forces in the world. The US has learned from our counter-terrorist experience, most notably with the IRA. I told The Argus in the aftermath of the atrocity that we cannot prevent these attacks. I meant we cannot prevent all attacks. We have to be lucky all the time – a tall order, given that 500-plus investigations are in progress. Our counter-terror agencies have thwarted 18 major plots since 2013.

Crowded places remain prime targets. With the summer period upon us, there will be enhanced vigilance and engagement between police and partners. The attack in Manchester occurred at the end of the event when people were crowding the exits and when event organisers and staff were focused on dispersal and clear up. Security primarily deployed on entry is often absent at the end of the event.

These factors make the public, on their daily business or just out enjoying an event, vulnerable. Security plans may need revision.

Staff and the broader public who are concerned about suspect activity can check the Citizen Aid app and the Government’s advice Run, Hide, Tell on YouTube or call the anti-terrorist hotline 0800 789 321.

Relatives, colleagues or staff showing radical changes in behaviour or statements in support of Daesh or other terrorist ideologies or displaying suspicious, unusual transactions of precursor materials that could be used in bomb making should be reported.

Vigilance is vital. A device left on a tube train by a student, who has since been convicted, was spotted by a brave passenger who handed it to the driver, who alerted the authorities when he realised it was a possible bomb.

We shall not be cowed by terrorism. We lived through over three decades of the IRA. We have the best trained forces in the world working on our behalf to defend us.

As in all such terrible events we praise the amazing work of the NHS; the unstinting courage of the bomb disposal units; the police and all the other agencies who work to keep us safe. There must be no further cuts to these invaluable services – especially now. They need more funding and personnel, not less.

These dedicated and brave people do not run, they do not hide. And neither will we: the terrorists are about to learn this lesson.

*On Saturday morning, after publication, the Government reduced the terror threat level from critical to severe. 

Andy Oppenheimer is a Hove-based counter-terrorism consultant. He is the author of IRA: The Bombs and the Bullets. Visit andyoppenheimer.com