Britain's spy chief reveals 12 terror attacks thwarted in 2017

Britain's intelligence chief today disclosed that the UK's security forces had thwarted at least 12 terrorist attacks directed against the country since the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed strike on the British Parliament building in March last year.

During an address to a meeting of European intelligence chiefs in Berlin today, MI5 director-general Andrew Parker also warned that ISIS continues to aspire to commit "devastating" attacks in Europe after losing territory in Syria and Iraq.

"Daesh (ISIS) still aspires to direct devastating and more complex attacks despite territorial losses and threats from Al Qaeda and other Islamist terror groups have not gone away," he said in his speech titled 'Hybrid Threats'.

He said: "Whilst Daesh has now lost its false caliphate in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, tackling the group as a movement will require sustained international focus for years to come. As I speak today, they are seeking to regroup, and the threat seems likely to persist.

"Islamic State have been blamed for (attacks) that's upset a lot of Al Qaeda affiliated groups who want to get back into high-level, sophisticated attacks like they did with the 9/11 attacks, because they see Islamic State getting the media limelight."