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Britain: Car bomb in London's "The Haymarket" would have caused 'carnage'
A car bomb left in London's West End would have caused "significant injury or loss of life" if it had not been defused by police. The explosive device, consisting of gas cyclinders and nails, was discovered at 2am outside a packed nightclub in The Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus. Police were alerted to a suspicious silver Mercedes car in the heart of theatreland by ambulance crew who noticed smoke inside it.Scotland Yard's deputy assistant commissioner Peter Clarke said officers inspecting the car found significant quantities of petrol, a number of gas cylinders and containers holding nails inside. Fortunately, specialist officers were able to make the device safe preventing any damage or injury to people or property nearby. Mr Clarke, head of the Yard's counter-terrorism command, said detectives are keeping "an entirely open mind" as to who is responsible but he called on the public to remain vigilant. Whitehall sources said that the police and security services were looking at possible international links - including similarities to car bombs used by insurgents in Iraq. "It is entirely possible. There are various things - it is outside a nightclub, it is a vehicle-borne device, it is close to the anniversary of the July 7 attacks," one source said. Police have removed the car from the scene and are studying CCTV footage for clues. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith chaired a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cobra, this morning. "What I think is very important is that the public remain vigilant at all times," she said. "Obviously the police are investigating and I think we should allow them to get on with that without undue speculation." Britain's security service MI5 currently determines the threat level for terrorism in the UK as severe - the second highest in the scale. It has been set as such since August 14 last year and means an attack is "highly likely" with "a continuing high level of threat to the UK". One witness said that door staff at the nightclub Tiger, Tiger alerted police after the car was driven into bins last night and the driver ran off. The witness said the large silver saloon car was being driven "erratically" before the minor crash. The driver was not stopped. Police said it is not yet clear whether the nightclub was targeted. The area, including Piccadilly Underground station, has been cordoned off, causing huge disruption. Police have said it will remain closed for some time. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the incident reminds us that Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the public "need to be alert" at all times. Jack Straw, who was appointed Justice Secretary yesterday, said ministers had been informed of the incident. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme it was "very saddening" but "these things happen". A police source said: "The indications that we have got so far are that it was certainly a big device." But a Westminster source said the device was believed to be relatively small and made of some type of home-made explosive. The source said police carried out a search of other key areas in the capital in the early hours of this morning after the Haymarket incident was discovered. Had it gone off, it might have been as bad, or worse, than the Bali bombing. Posted by: mrp 2007-06-29 |
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