‘Flu bigger threat than terrorism in Britain’

By OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT

London

Aug. 8: The most serious threat to security in the UK is a flu pandemic as it would claim up to 750,000 lives, according to the National Risk Register which sets out the UK government’s assessment of the likelihood and potential impact of a range of different risks that may directly affect the country.

The pandemic is the fifth most likely type of risk and is slightly less likely than a severe weather attack. The second-highest risk is coastal flooding on the scale of the 1953 East Coast floods, which claimed 300 lives, and which could result in the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Cabinet office on Friday published the first National Risk Register as part of its national security that was announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the House of Commons in March earlier in 2008.

The security strategy is a blueprint of how the government plans to deal with a wide range of threats, including terrorism, nuclear attack, natural disasters such as extreme weather, crime and cyber attacks. However, the most likely risk to the British security is an attack on the transport network, the register revealed.

After an attack on the transport system, the second most likely threat is an electronic attack on IT and communications systems, and the third most likely threat is a terror strike on a crowded place.

The analysis on the risks facing Britain in the National Risk Register involves assessments of the country, including natural disasters and industrial accidents. Different threats are ranked on a specially-devised graph which has "relative likelihood" and "relative impact."