Ring of steel for Saturday's ceremony as Met probes terror plot: Veterans say they've been told to clear new security 24 hours before London VJ Day parade
VJ day marks the day Japan surrendered to the Allies in Second World War
Special forces are ramping up security ahead of next week's celebrations
Bags will be searched, road blocks erected and snipers will be on roofs
2,877 terror-related arrests in UK from September 2001 to December 2014
By Mark Nicol Defence Correspondent For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 16:39 EST, 8 August 2015 | Updated: 16:39 EST, 8 August 2015
Special Forces troops and counter-terrorism police are putting up a ring of steel around next Saturday's Victory over Japan Day celebrations in a desperate bid to prevent an Islamic State atrocity in the heart of London.
Military snipers will be posted on rooftops, road blocks will be erected, and bags will be searched to protect the Queen, Prince of Wales, Prime Minister and thousands of VJ Day veterans and guests from fanatics bent on causing mayhem in Westminster.
The drastic security procedures follows the discovery by intelligence chiefs that home-grown jihadis want to use an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to murder the Queen, dignitaries and veterans.
Although their plot has been exposed, security chiefs fear the as-yet-unknown number of terrorists remain intent on causing carnage at the events to mark the end of the Far East campaign, during which 30,000 British troops were killed between 1941 to 1945.
To meet the deadly threat, teams of heavily armed firearms officers will be deployed on Westminster's streets while plain-clothed officers will loiter among the crowds watching for any suspicious behaviour.
The Mail on Sunday also understands that GCHQ, the Government's intelligence agency, will launch a mass surveillance operation of internet and phone traffic in to intercept any communications which reveal the identities of members of the UK-based IS terror cell and their whereabouts on the day.
Meanwhile on the South Coast, troops from the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) will monitor migrants arriving in Dover and record the registration numbers of any vehicles used to collect suspicious individuals.
Last night, the threat level for international terrorism for the UK, as set by the Security Services, remained at 'severe', meaning MI5 bosses believe an attack on this country is 'highly likely'. The only level above severe is 'critical', which means an attack is imminent.
According to security sources, the terrorists involved in the pressure-cooker plot have the intent to carry out such an atrocity but do not yet have the capability to turn the device into a lethal device.
If this assessment of their bomb-making abilities is upgraded, this may be reflected in a change to the UK threat level.
According to the latest Home Office figures, there have been 2,877 terrorism-related arrests in the UK from September 10, 2001 to December 31, 2014.
These arrests led to 721 individuals being charged with terrorism-related offences, with 452 convictions. The Security Services believe there are several thousand individuals in the UK who support violent extremism or are engaged in Islamic extremist activity.
Simple, self-organised plots by UK-based terrorists, such as the pressure-cooker plot, have increased, according to MI5, and are considered harder to detect than more complex, larger-scale attacks.
The Mail on Sunday has established that the plot to blow up the Queen on VJ Day originated in Syria and was communicated to jihadis in the UK either over the internet or by phone.
The interception of these communications coincided with the Special Air Service (SAS) stepping up its reconnaissance and target identification operations on the ground in the war-torn country.
The regiment's soldiers are working closely with US Special Forces to eliminate the hierarchy of IS, and to take out individuals who pose a specific threat to UK security.
Security at VJ Day ceremony tighter than ever before, says elderly war veteran who needs to bring his ID to collect ticket
Vetting procedures for veterans wishing to attend the VJ Day parade on Saturday afternoon have been dramatically tightened.
Elderly soldiers must bring photographic identification and collect their tickets in person at Horse Guards Parade either on Friday or Saturday, they told The Mail on Sunday.
Sergeant Vic Knibb, 90, who served in Burma with the Royal West Kent Regiment in 1945, said that security procedures were the tightest he could remember for any VJ ceremony.
The veteran, from West Molesey, Surrey, said: 'I've got to get accredited on the Friday morning and that means going up in person to Central London.
'But I am favour of these security arrangements. It's necessary in the world we live in.
'This year's event is also much bigger than the ceremonies to mark the 50th and 60th anniversaries, and of course Her Majesty the Queen will be present.
'I hope to be introduced to Her Majesty at the church service at St Martin-in-the-Fields before watching the parade at Horse Guards.'
Sgt Knibb features prominently in the Ministry of Defence's publicity campaign to highlight VJ Day. He joined the Home Guard at the age of 16 in Derby and signed up to the Army aged 18. In 1944, he boarded a troop ship at Liverpool and sailed to India.
With fellow soldiers from the Royal West Kent Regiment, he fought the Japanese in the Battle of Meiktila in 1945.
Doug Marsh, 92, a former RAF navigator who guided Allied aircraft over Burma during the same campaign, said: 'I've never known the VJ Day to be like this. I've rung the Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence for more information but I've got nowhere.
'This is certainly the first time I've had to bring photographic identification with me.'
Mr Marsh, from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, added: 'Fortunately I still travel a lot so my passport is up to date but for a lot of the old boys in the Royal Air Force Association this isn't the case.
'I know there have been a lot of complaints and nobody seems to know what's going on or why the sudden need for such security.
'It makes my family concerned for me – they wouldn't want me to go if I was in danger.'
The Royal British Legion, which is arranging the VJ Day celebrations, confirmed last night that the additional security measures had been introduced following consultation with the Metropolitan Police.
Senior police officers are aware of the Islamic State pressure-cooker plot, although it is not clear whether this intelligence was shared with the RBL.
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