Counter-terror police investigating the stabbing of a woman believed to be an American spy working at GCHQ’s headquarters do not think the attack was organised by a hostile state, the Standard understands.
The unnamed victim suffered serious injuries after being stabbed outside a leisure centre a few miles from the intelligence agency’s base in Cheltenham.
Her attacker is reported to have “lashed out” and “stabbed her” after confronting her as she sat in her car. The woman survived by fleeing to seek help from staff at the leisure centre.
A 29-year-old man was initially held on suspicion of attempted murder but was later re-arrested on suspicion of the “commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism”.
Police said their decision was “due to some specific details of this incident” and they obtained a warrant allowing them to detain the man until tomorrow before having to decide whether to charge him, release him or extend his custody.
There was no further information about the suspected motivation for the attack or whether the woman had been targeted because she was American or because of her work, although sources discounted it might have involved a hostile state.
One source added that the nature of the attack would be made clearer to the public after charging decisions were made.
Police made clear, however, that they regard the attack, which happened on Thursday, as an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the public from any wider conspiracy.
Gloucestershire’s Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone said he recognised the incident “may be concerning” and urged anyone with information to contact police.
The attack follows repeated warnings from both MI5 and counter-terrorism police about the continuing terrorist threat in this country.
In his most recent update, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said 37 “late-stage plots”, including eight in the past year, have been foiled since the start of 2017.
He said Islamist plotting — which accounts for around three quarters of MI5’s caseload — remained the principal threat but extreme-Right terrorism was also a growing danger.
