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Brits hunt anti-aircraft missile smugglers
This week's Heathrow security alert was sparked by high-quality intelligence that Islamist extremists with links to al-Qaida have smuggled portable Sam-7 anti-aircraft missiles into Britain from Europe. Investigators have been told that the smugglers then contacted a small number of known sympathisers within the UK, who have become the focus of a huge police inquiry. Sam-7's are not good news. The intelligence, which is understood to have been received at the weekend, sent shudders through anti-terrorist investigators. They had not received such specific and credible information of an imminent threat since the September 11 atrocities. The warning about the movement of a number of the shoulder-held missiles did not come from the FBI or from European agencies but from credible "homegrown" sources. From which mosque? MI5 immediately shared the information with senior detectives from Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, who used emergency procedures to request troops to beef up security at the airport. Police and the intelligence agencies regularly hear "background noise" pointing to possible attacks on UK interests here and abroad. But investigators insisted yesterday the Heathrow warning was of a quite different order and that the response to it had to be quick and uncompromising. A surveillance operation has been launched and anti-terrorist investigators are hopeful of making arrests in the coming days. The police and MI5 believe there are about 40 Islamist extremists based in Britain who are linked to al-Qaida, some of whom have been monitored for months due to concerns they might be instructed to carry out a terrorist strike. In a briefing yesterday, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir John Stevens, hinted that Heathrow was not the only target in London, but he refused to be drawn on which other buildings in the capital could be under threat. He also confirmed that closing Heathrow had been considered. There was also the possibility of troops being drafted into the capital, he said, but this was not imminent. However, Whitehall sources also said there would almost certainly be more high-profile security operations involving the army as well as armed police when fresh intelligence emerges. The Met and the security service is assessing the threat on a day-to-day basis and reporting to Downing Street. Though security at most of Britain's other major airports was increased yesterday - armed police were stationed at Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham International, Stansted and Gatwick - investigators said this was precautionary and that the "core" threat was still to London and Heathrow. Sir John has been riled by suggestions that he has come under political pressure to exaggerate the threat posed by terrorists. Detectives insisted yesterday that their concerns, which have been growing for months, are separate from the debate about whether there should be a war in Iraq. "This is not linked into any propaganda war, which has been alleged by one or two people," Sir John said. "Let me make this absolutely clear - we're not in the business of scaring people or doing things without reason. This kind of operation ... is a last resort." Sir John is a professional; he's not likely to tolerate political meddling of the kind suggested. Asked if there had been any interference at all, Sir John said: "Absolutely not, I can assure you of that. We would not go along with any kind of pressure. I would not be part and parcel of anything like that." He said his reputation, particularly in his ongoing investigation into collusion between the security forces and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, was for independence of mind. "I go where the evidence is," he said. However, the suggestion that the Heathrow operation was a useful PR exercise for a government that has struggled to persuade the public about conflict in Iraq rattled John Reid, the Labour party chairman. In an interview yesterday morning, he said London faced a threat "of the nature that massacred thousands of people in New York". Later he qualified his remarks, saying that he had been "misinterpreted" and that he had not meant to compare September 11 to the current situation in London. No, he was right the first time. Having Sam7's fired at civilian airliners is of the same nature that cost us the WTC. "I was attempting to make clear this is not some sort of game; it's not some sort of PR exercise. It was precisely the suggestion that any government ... would use such a serious subject for their own purposes of spin or public relations I just found pretty contemptible." The home secretary, David Blunkett, said closing Heathrow, which was discussed by cabinet members on Monday, would have been "a victory for the terrorists". Yep. The chancellor, Gordon Brown, yesterday increased the amount the Ministry of Defence can spend on a war against Iraq from £1bn to £1.75bn. However, independent analysts say the cost to British taxpayers of an invasion of Iraq would be at least £3.5bn. Freedom isn't cheap. It's going to cost us more than cash, we'll undoubtedly lose some fine people, and the Brits will too. Posted by: Steve White 2003-02-13 |
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