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British police will withhold true death toll in any major attack: report
LONDON - The police, seeking to minimize public panic, would withhold the true death toll if there is a catastrophic attack on Britain by the Islamic militant group Al Qaeda, the Sunday Times newspaper claimed. Citing leaked secret Scotland Yard plans, the paper said officers should not disclose the "numbers or seriousness/nature of injuries" immediately after a "dirty bomb" attack, even if there are thousands of casualties.One of the confidential memos, titled Communications Strategy for Dealing with a Terrorist Attack, suggests that poor handling of an attack will have "political implications" that could damage the police and government, it said. The instruction to withhold information contrasts with assurances by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Home Secretary David Blunkett that the public will be told the truth about terrorism, it added. Circulated widely as police and home office experts prepare plans to deal with an Al Qaeda "spectacular" in the run-up to the general election, perhaps in May next year, the document reflects concern that a large-scale attack could turn voters against the Blair government, it said. The memo, and another "restricted" paper titled "Major Incident Contingency Plans," said that an Al Qaeda attack here is likely to be at least as serious as the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States when some 3,000 died. The memos say that a massive chemical or biological attack could endanger people for "weeks/months," it said. The documents warn that Al Qaeda terrorists may use aircraft, trucks and cars to carry out simultaneous strikes at several places, which would cause large numbers of casualties. Senior officials are especially concerned about the possibility of people learning that police had failed to act on prior intelligence about an attack. The memos also warn Britains 1.2 million Muslims not to retaliate in the face of the anticipated violent "backlash" from racist groups, according to the daily. They say that tensions between white people and Muslims will "increase sharply" and could get even worse if Britain or the United States takes punitive action abroad, the newspaper said. Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-10-03 |
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