The threat level in Britain is “critical”. This means that a new terrorist attack could be imminent. Would-be car-bombers are said to be still at large. Iraq-style terror tactics have arrived.

But the British public seems to be more worried about the threat from the domestic tabby than the menace of suicide bombers. Checking the BBC website on Monday for news of the latest arrests, I noticed that the “most read” story in the UK was headlined: “Experts warn on cat allergies.” Terrorism did not make it into the top five.