MI5 has been developing a closer working relationship with the public for some time, offering a confidential hotline for information and a website which has expanded significantly in recent months.

Now, under the leadership of Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, who is retiring in April, the Security Service is inviting members of the public to send them their e-mail addresses so that they can be updated whenever there is a change in the threat assessment.

It may sound like a gimmick but any move to reassure or inform the public about the terrorist threats facing this country should be viewed in a positive light.

I suspect there will be an initial curiosity interest but the main beneficiaries of this new system will be business and industry. MI5 has been urging companies to draw up counter-terrorist security plans to prepare for terrorist attacks, and e-mails will provide another reminder.

Although security assessments by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, based at MI5, are carried out on a regular basis, it is fairly rare for the threat levels to change, principally because the risk of an attack is so high that there are no grounds for reducing the alert status.

The current level is "severe", the second highest status which means an attack is highly likely. The highest threat level is "critical" which indicates there is intelligence of an imminent attack. If this threat level was judged to be necessary, all the relevant authorities would be informed immediately, and the general public living in the city, town or area perceived to be at greatest risk would be told what steps to take to stay out of danger.

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