The UK would be under greater threat from terror plots if voters opted to leave the European Union, the Home Secretary has warned.
Theresa May said Britain's membership of the EU gave intelligence service access to important information.
It also made it easier for British police to catch criminals and extradite suspects, she added.
Staying in the EU also meant the UK had access to the Prum convention for sharing fingerprints and DNA, which will reduce the time it takes to find a match from143 days to 15 minutes.
:: Brussels Terror Attack: Live Updates
Speaking to The Times newspaper just before the bomb attacks in Brussels that killed 34 people, Mrs May said: "I think this is an issue people should look at more broadly, but on the security front there are good reasons for us to be members of the European Union.
"The UK threat level is at severe, which means a terrorist attack is highly likely. We know that since November 2014 seven terrorist plots have been disrupted in the UK. What’s important is that we work with other to ensure that we can respond."
Britain's membership of the EU has become a subject of debate in the wake of the terror attacks after UKIP used them to advance the argument that Europe’s open borders had increased the threat.
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The party’s defence spokesman Mike Hookem said that "Schengen free movement and lax border controls are a threat to our security".
Nigel Farage came under fire for being "shameful" on Tuesday after retweeting a comment from the newspaper columnist and novelist Allison Pearson which said: "Brussels, de facto capital of the EU, is also the jihadist capital of Europe. And the Remainers dare to say we're safer in the EU!"
:: UKIP Uses Brussels Attack To Make Brexit Case
On Tuesday evening former Conservative leader Michael Howard joined the debate saying that the passport-free Schengen zone acted as a "welcome sign" for terrorists and made Europe "less safe".
However, the Prime Minister said it was "inappropriate" to advance the argument for the UK leaving the EU by using the terror attacks in Brussels.
He and the 27 other European leaders on Tuesday signed a joint declaration which said the terror attacks "strengthen resolve to defend Europe's values".
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