Terror - Terrible or a Terra lot of bull?

So some report says that apparantly we are to fear 2000 people in the UK who are or could be terror suspects in the eyes of M15.

Firstly - and forgive me if this seems either harsh, uneducated or plain stupid - but thats not that many is it? When these sort of stats are wheeled out I am always a bit suprised at how low they sound but how afraid we are meant to be! For example: 103 people are hurt by a hair dryer each year, so lets campaign for safer hair dryers. 103 injuries...is it high enough to warrant a campaign?

I digress, these 2000 terror suspects. Granted 2000 people who may want to do harm is a lot, but 2000 out of 60 million aint that high a number.

What do they base this on too? Is this people who own bomb making equipment? Is it people trained by terror groups? Is it people who have been heard chatting about destruction? Is it people who have visited or posted on an extremest website? What is an extremest?

I find it so hard to take these figures with anything more than a vague glance and then extreme sceptecism. I am sure there are people in this country, just like any other country, who want to do its population harm. Just like I guarantee there are British (either official or unofficial agents) in a country like Iran who want to do its population harm.

I guess my question is...who are all these people who are affraid that Britain is under a constant terror threat? Have we ever not been under this threat and does it affect anyones lives to a huge extent?

Obviously any attack is unpleasant and injuries or deaths resulting from it are deeply wrong, but there seems to be this amazing amount of fear and propoganda whipped up by various sources but I am yet to meet one person who is actually concerned about it.

Perhaps thats just the Brighton bubble striking again.

I am more affraid of my own government that I am of terrorists!