MI5 offers terrorist warnings by email

According to Sky News, the emails will mean that you can tell if it is safe to go to work or do any of the things you normally do since the war on terror began.

Threat levels, which are assessed by the Government's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, have been posted on the MI5 and Home Office websites since August.

However, the idea of emailing worried people to tell them if it has changed is brand new.

All you have to do is register on the MI5 website to receive automatic electronic updates notifying you of any change to the threat level.

However, do not expect a warm, secure feeling to come from the information. MI5 Director General Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller has been warning lately that the UK is suffering from a continuing danger of a major attack by al Qaeda or related organisations.

Apparently today's threat level is assessed as "severe" - the second highest rating in the Government's five-tier system. This means that an attack is "highly likely". µ