SPOOKS were tonight ordered to war game terror attacks on Britain — as anti-Israel protests were branded hate marches.
Rishi Sunak chaired a Cobra meeting today amid growing fears of a strike here sparked by war in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister warned of an “accelerated terrorism threat” triggered by Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
But security chiefs stopped short of raising the official threat level from “substantial” to “severe”.
Instead, police and spies were instructed to “prepare for and mitigate against the risk of incidents”.
Measures included “conducting table-top exercises to simulate our response to potential public order and counter terror scenarios”.
READ MORE UK POLITICS
And the Crown Prosecution Service was told to do everything possible to ensure extremists who glorify Hamas and spout anti-semitism at marches were locked up.
Whitehall departments were also told to “review urgently their engagement with external groups to ensure no resources are going to any individuals or organisations that express sympathy for terrorist activity”.
It came as Home Secretary Suella Braverman called protests attended by tens of thousands in London this weekend “hate marches”.
She vowed she would not hesitate to tighten anti-terror laws so dangerous extremists who deliberately operate beneath the criminal threshold could finally be punished.
Most read in Politics
More than 50,000 marched in the capital on Saturday, when there were calls for “intifada from London to Gaza” and shouts of “Khaybar, Khaybar” — a reference to the mass slaughter of Jews.
Ms Braverman said: “Over the last few weekends we’ve seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets following the massacre of Jewish people… chanting for the erasure of Israel from the map.
“To my mind there’s only one way to describe those marches. They are hate marches.”
No10 also described the slogan “from the river to the sea” as “a deeply offensive chant.”
Seen as a chilling threat to wipe out Israel, it is loved by Hamas and echoed by pro-Palestine protesters.
Since October 7, when Hamas slaughtered 1,400 Israelis, police have made 100 conflict-related arrests.
Met Chief Sir Mark Rowley confirmed the force was trying to identify further protesters who might have fallen foul of anti-extremism rules.
He told Sky News: “When you’ve got state threats from Iran, you’ve got terrorism being accelerated by the events and hate crime.
“For Jewish communities, it’s now about 14-fold increase in anti-semitism in London and for Muslim communities, it’s nearly threefold.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Meanwhile, two women who allegedly wore images of paragliders on their tops at a pro-Palestine rally have been arrested.
The pair, aged 29 and 44 were being held in West London on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed organisation.