Prime Minister David Cameron today condemned the "appalling and savage" attacks in Brussels and warned of a "very real terror threat" to Europe, as Britain deployed extra patrols at ports, airports, metro stations and major railway stations.
"We face a very real terrorist threat right across the different countries of Europe and we have to meet that with everything we have," Cameron said following an emergency cabinet meeting to determine UK's response after a string of explosions ripped through Brussels airport and a city metro station, killing at least 34 people and prompting a high- security alert across European nations.
One British national was also injured in the attack.
Expressing solidarity with Belgium, Cameron said: "These were attacks in Belgium; they could just as well be attacks in Britain or in France or Germany, or elsewhere in Europe and we need to stand together against these appalling terrorists and make sure they can never win."
The prime minister promised all possible help to Belgium as he recalled the July 7, 2005, terror bombings on London's transport system that killed 52 people.
"We will do everything we can to help. These are difficult times, these are appalling terrorists but we must stand together to do everything we can to stop them."
"What we should be doing today is expressing our sympathies and condolences with the people in Belgium who have suffered this appalling terrorist attack. We in this country know what that feels like because of what we experienced in 7/7," he said.
Meanwhile, security was beefed up across major airports in Europe including London's Gatwick airport as fear of another imminent terror attack remains very strong.
"As a result of the terrible incidents in Brussels, we have increased our security presence and patrols around the airport," the Gatwick airport said in a statement.
The UK's most senior counter-terrorism officer, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, said increased police activity in the UK was a precaution, but not in response to any specific information or intelligence.
Earlier in the day, a string of explosions rocked Brussels Zaventem international airport and a city metro station, killing at least 34 people, according to local media reports.
Police said the attacks were caused by suicide bombers.
The blast at the Maalbek metro station occurred in the close vicinity of the European Union institutions and killed 20 people and wounded 106 others. Brussels has both NATO as well as European Union (EU) headquarters.
The terror strike is widely seen as a revenge attack for the arrest of Paris terror attacks prime suspect, Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in the Belgian capital last Friday, four months after France's deadliest terror attack in November, claimed by the Islamic State, that killed 130 people.
