Terrorists may be planning to launch suicide bomb attacks in Britain using former NHS ambulances and police cars bought on auction website eBay, police chiefs have warned. The Association of Chief Police Officers said ministers must legislate to stop the sale of such vehicles amid fears that al-Qa'eda inspired extremists may import a tactic already used in Iraq and Israel. Every year dozens of police cars, ambulances and fire engines are sold. Some are fully marked and can be bought for as little as £1,500. Counter-terrorism officials at the Home Office have now written to eBay, the internet auctioneer, asking it to stop selling emergency service vehicles, equipment and uniforms. However, eBay has said it will only self-regulate if a new law is passed.
A report from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, sent to chief constables, highlights recent attacks by Al-Qa'eda in Iraq and Israel, including one in February in which a suicide bomber drove a stolen ambulance packed with explosives into an Iraqi police station. The bomber tried to break through a checkpoint but the vehicle exploded when police opened fire.
The report says terrorists have been using ambulances to transport bombs in Israel since at least 2002. It cites a report by the Israeli Defence Forces that Palestinian terrorists have used ambulances to ferry recruits and equipment around the West Bank. Security sources said that while there was evidence that al-Qa'eda had adopted the terrorist tactic in the Middle East, there was no specific intelligence of such a plot in Britain.
Steve Watts, Assistant Chief Constable of Hampshire Police, is chairing a national security committee which is drawing up plans to tackle the terrorist threat. He said: 'What concerns me is the lack of legislation available for the police service to adequately address the threat of pseudo-emergency service vehicles used in such an environment.'