Antarctic only safe hols spot.

Byline: OONAGH BLACKMAN and GARY JONES 

BRITAIN'S top spy boss last night warned terrorism is such a threat that the only safe place for a holiday is the South Pole.

MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller said the risk to the UK from Islamic terrorists will stay high for at least five years.

The fight against groups such as al-Qaeda will be a "long haul", she warned.

In a rare speech, she said in London: "I see no prospect of a significant reduction in the threat posed to the UK and its interests from Islamic terrorism over the next five years and, I fear, for a considerable number of years thereafter."

Attacks such as the September 11 and Bali atrocities meant Britons could be at risk in any country.

She added: "I recall reading one gloomy [Joint Intelligence Committee] paper on the threat, after which a colleague said 'Holidays only safe in Antarctica then'."

She also said "sleeper al-Qaeda terrorists" were living normal lives in the UK awaiting calls to act.

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WARNING: Buller