Soldiers to guard UK power plants against terrorist attacks?

Ministers are considering using soldiers to guard power plants against terrorist attack, it emerged today.

But the Home Office said the review of protection arrangements did not come in response to any specific terrorist threat against facilities like electricity power stations or gas pipelines.

The News of the World today named the gas pipeline facility at Bacton in Norfolk, oil and gas terminals in Humberside and Grampian, Scotland, and oil refineries at Coryton, Essex, and Fawley, near Southampton, as locations where troops are to be deployed to beef up security.

Bacton handles a quarter of Britain's gas, processing supplies from three North Sea fields and channelling gas to and from Europe.

The paper suggested that plans to bring in military security came in response to intelligence reports of al Qaida suspects showing an interest in plants including Bacton and the Milford Haven gas terminal in south Wales.

But the Home Office said security was kept constantly under review and that there was no intelligence of a specific threat from terrorists.

A spokesman said: "The general threat level to this country has not changed. It is still `severe'.

"We have been very clear that we face the severe threat of terrorism, so it is important that we consider all options to protect our assets and infrastructure.

"This particular review doesn't reflect any specific threat.

"We constantly keep our resources under review."

Copyright Press Association 2007