Following the hostage crisis in Algeria, YouGov research shows almost two thirds (66%) of Britons believe Islamic militants in North Africa are a threat to the UK, while just under a fifth (19%) don’t.
Additionally, four in five (81%) people think Al Qaeda and groups associated with it are a threat to Britain, while one in ten (10%) don’t think it is.
Increased threat abroad
Two thirds (67%) of people think that the threat of terrorism to UK citizens abroad has increased in the past five years. This is compared to under a quarter (24%) that think it has stayed the same and one in twenty (5%) that believe it has diminished. Older people are more likely to think the threat has increased, with eight in ten (80%) over-60s believing the danger of terrorism to Britons overseas has got worse against just over two thirds (68%) of 40-59 year olds, 58% of 25-39 year olds and half (50%) of under-25s.
More attacks in UK
Almost three quarters (74%) think it’s likely there will be further terrorist attacks on UK cities compared to 15% who don’t. Younger people are least concerned about targets in Britain being attacked with just over a third (34%) thinking such threats are not likely. This compares to almost one in five (19%) 25-39 year-olds, just over one in eight (13%) of 40-59 year-olds and 8% of the over-60s. Over four in ten (45%) believe the threat of terrorism in the UK has increased in the past five years while over a third (38%) think it hhas stayed the same and 13% think it has decreased. This is a change from July 2010 when a majority (53%) of Britons believed the threat of terrorism in the UK had remained stable over the previous half-decade against a quarter (25%) that thought it had increased and fewer than one in five (17%) that believed it had decllined.
