Top Terror Suspect Freed Over Secrets Fear – UK

The Home Secretary has released a man regarded as one of Britain’s most dangerous terror suspects from virtual house arrest to avoid disclosing secret evidence against him, The Times has learned. The man, known only as AF, has been subject to a controversial “control order” since 2006 because of his alleged links with Islamic terrorists. He has never been charged, however, and the evidence for the allegations has never been heard in a public court.

The control order was revoked last week and the suspect’s electronic tag removed, setting him free in spite of the Government’s claim that he remains a threat.

Lord Pannick, QC, who led the legal team acting for the man in the House of Lords, said: “The Home Secretary has some explaining to do. Does he now accept that there was no need for the control order which imposed severe restrictions on AF . . . or does he still think there is a need for controls but is unwilling to provide details of the allegations against AF? If the latter, does he accept that the control order regime is defective and should be scrapped?”

AF, who has dual Libyan and British nationality, was one of three terror suspects who won a landmark ruling from nine law lords in July that their detention under the control order regime was illegal. The law lords ruled that the suspects had been denied a fair hearing prior to detention because they had not been told sufficient details of the case against them.

The ruling paved the way for up to 20 men held under the regime to challenge their detention and to seek to know the basis of the case against them.

via Top terror suspect is freed over secrets fear – Times Online.

Report: Britain to Use Google Against Terrorists

The British government may be deploying a new weapon against terrorists: Google.

According to the tech-related news site The Register, the Home Office’s Office for Security and Counter Terrorism plans to work with “approved” Islamist Web sites to “flood the Internet” with pro-Western viewpoints.

It will train the operators of the pro-Western sites in search-engine optimization, an arcane strategy that basically makes sure your site is near the top of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft LiveSearch results pages.

That way, young British Muslims searching online for say, “jihad,” will get pro-Western Web sites instead of Al Qaeda mouthpieces, or so the theory goes.

“In order to support mainstream voices, we work with local partners to help develop their communication, representational and leadership skills,” an unnamed Home Office spokesman told The Register. “This support could include media training, which can help make their voices heard more widely, and support the development of skills which allow communities to be more effective in debate.”

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Police Search For 2nd Terror Cell In UK

A second al-Qaeda terror cell is believed to be planning carnage in the UK.

Senior security sources last night revealed they are hunting extremists aiming to bomb a location such as a nightclub or shopping centre.

They believe the cell will target London rather than the North- West, where 11 men were arrested on Wednesday, as the capital holds more “international significance”.

Evidence gleaned from the arrests was revealed to Cobra, Whitehall’s emergency committee of intelligence chiefs and ministers.

One source said: “We are investigating whether the men were being used to set up attacks while the second group would carry them out. We expect more arrests.”

Despite security services’ claims about imminent attacks no weapons, explosives or bomb factory have been uncovered.

An 18-year-old was freed into the custody of Border authorities for deportation. Those still in custody refuse to talk. “They are more or less mute,” said the source.

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12 Arrested In Very Serious Terror Plot In UK

British police Wednesday arrested 12 people in a counterterrorism operation, and locations were being searched, authorities said.
A Scotland Yard official’s papers show details of the raid, which have been obscured in this photo.

Arrests were carried out in a series of raids in northwest England, police said. Participating agencies included Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and the Lancashire Constabulary, according to a statement from Greater Manchester Police.

The men arrested were involved in a “very serious” plot closely associated with al Qaeda and escaped al Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf, whom British intelligence have linked to the 2006 plot to blow up trans-Atlantic airliners, according to a security source with knowledge of the investigation.

The new plot was not believed to be targeting national infrastructure, such as rail lines, airports or utilities, nor was it clear if the plot was to involved bombs or an assault involving gunmen, the source said.

Details, the source said, were speculative at this point in the investigation.

The source also said authorities don’t believe the targets would have been in the north of England, where the arrests took place, and that at least some of those arrested were Pakistanis in the United Kingdom on student visas.

Several hundred officers were involved in the raids, according to a later Greater Manchester Police statement. The men arrested range in age from a youth in his mid- to late teens to a 41-year-old, the statement said. No further information was available, police said.

“Today’s action is part of an ongoing investigation and we have acted on intelligence received,” said Steve Ashley, chief superintendent of Merseyside police.

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UK – Terrorists Could Launch Dirty Bomb Attack

It is becoming “more realistic” that terrorists could get hold of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to attack the United Kingdom, the British Home Office said today. The warning was included in an updated counter-terrorism strategy designed to tackle what Home Office officials called an evolving terrorist threat.

Rather than acquiring a nuclear warhead, British officials worry more that terrorists could gather radioactive material to build a so-called “dirty-bomb.” That risk has existed for some time, but it’s increased due to the security situation in several failed states as well as a growing market in radioactive materials.

In an off-camera press briefing this morning for a handful of journalists, British officials said they continue to track a large number of British nationals of Pakistani origin who are traveling to Pakistan for terror training, and to fight in the insurgency, or both. However, they said there are some hopeful signs from Pakistan’s new government.

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Thousands Receive Terror Training In UK

Thousands of UK workers are being trained to help respond to a future terror attack as part of an updated counter-terror strategy, ministers say.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said shop and hotel workers would be among 60,000 people able to deal with an incident.

The updated approach, aimed at tackling immediate terrorist threats and the causes of extremism, would be the most comprehensive in the world, she added.

But the Tories said not enough action was being taken against extremists.

The Home Office’s new counter-terrorism document – to be published on Tuesday – will go into more detail than ever before in the interests of public accountability.

It will reflect intelligence opinion that the biggest threat to the UK comes from al-Qaeda-linked groups and will also take into account recent attacks on hotels in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Ms Smith told BBC One’s Politics Show: “What we’re completely clear about is that if we’re going to address the threat from terrorism, we need to do that alongside the 60,000 people that we’re now training up to respond to a terrorist threat, in everywhere from our shopping centres to our hotels.

“We need to do it alongside the 3,000 police officers now working on counter-terror and we need to do it with international partners.

“This is no longer something you can do behind closed doors and in secret.”

The paper – called Contest Two – will update the Contest strategy developed by the Home Office in 2003, which was later detailed in the Countering International Terrorism document released in 2006.

Over the last six years the strategy has concentrated on preventing radicalisation of potential terror recruits to disrupting terrorist operations, reducing the UK’s vulnerability and ensuring Britain is ready for the consequences of any terror attack.

The updated strategy will increase the focus on challenging individuals and groups who undermine the UK’s “shared values” – even if they are not breaking the law.

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UK – al-Qaeda Buying Ambulances and Other Emergency Vehicles on Online

MI5 have warned Britain’s cash-strapped National Health Services that dozens of ambulances–along with old police cars and fire engines past their sell-by date–are being snapped up by al-Qaeda operatives in the United Kingdom to mount suicide bomb attacks.

So serious is the problem that counter-terrorism officials at the Home Office have written to eBay, the Internet auctioneer, asking them to stop selling emergency service vehicles, equipment and uniforms.

But eBay has insisted it can only halt the sales if a new law is passed by Parliament. That could take many months to enact.

The use of ambulances is of particular concern to Britain’s terrorist chiefs. They say the tactic has already been used in Iraq with devastating effects.

A report by Lord Carlisle–the government terrorist czar who last month warned about the possibility of private planes being used for an attack on London–has been issued to all of Britain’s 48 police forces warning of the danger of selling-off emergency service vehicles.

Lord Carlisle, who works closely with the Terrorism Analysis Centre in London set up since the 9/11 attacks, said ambulances were the ideal weapon of choice for terrorists.

“It is almost rare that police will stop such vehicles on suspicious grounds. An ambulance rigged with high explosives could drive into any ultra-sensitive target like a nuclear power station or even Whitehall”, said a senior MI5 source.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has warned that the risk could be “highly significant” if the law is not tightened.

Every year dozens of police cars, ambulances and even fire engines are sold on eBay for as little as £1,500 ($2,230).

Many are still in working order. Those that need repair can be easily fixed to pass as genuine emergency service vehicles.

“An ambulance could carry half a ton of explosives. A rigged police car could carry half that amount. So could a fire engine”, states the MI5 report.

MI5 counter-terrorism officers say such attacks have been successfully carried out in Iraq and Israel.

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Active Islamist Extremists In UK May Number In The Thousands

More Islamist extremists are active in the UK than previously thought, a secret intelligence report seen by the Sunday Telegraph has suggested.

There are “some thousands” of militants in Britain, with extremist cells concentrated in London, Birmingham and Luton, the quoted report says.

The document also states the UK will remain “a high-priority target” for al-Qaeda for the foreseeable future.

The Home Office said resources had been invested to tackle the complex threat.

The paper says the document – marked “restricted” – was drawn up by the intelligence branch of the Ministry of Defence, MI5 and Special Branch.

Although the report states judging the number of militants is “difficult”, it cites estimates from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) which claim there are “some thousands of extremists in the UK committed to supporting jihadi activities, either in the UK or abroad”.

The document continues: “For the foreseeable future the UK will continue to be a high-priority target for international terrorists aligned with al-Qaeda.

“It will face a threat from British nationals, including Muslim converts, and UK-based foreign terrorists, as well as terrorists planning attacks from abroad.”

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