Britain faces IS threat of "enormous and spectacular attacks": UK counter-terror chief

Britain may be facing the threat of "enormous and spectacular attacks" by the Islamic State (IS), the country's head of counter-terrorism warned on Monday.

Speaking at a briefing in London, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said IS was "trying to build bigger attacks" than its previous ambitions and had broader "plans to attack Western lifestyle".

"In recent months we've seen a broadening of that, much more plans to attack Western lifestyle, and obviously the Paris attacks in November," said Rowley, who is the national lead for counter-terrorism in Britain.

"You see a terrorist group which has big ambitions for enormous and spectacular attacks, not just the types that we've seen foiled to date," he warned.

Rowley continued that IS has been "acting as a cult to use propaganda to radicalize people to act in their name."

The number of arrests of terrorist suspects in the last three years has risen by 57 percent compared to the previous three years, and up to 77 percent of those arrested last year were British nationals, according to the Metropolitan Police.

"That is an indication of that radicalization, the effect of the propaganda and the way the messages of Daesh (IS) are resonating with some individuals," Rowley said.

He also noted that British counter-terror police are hiring trained psychologists for their professional advice and the deployment of psychologists in counter-terrorism has become "increasingly standard." Enditem