Two more arrests in UK terror investigation

Two more arrests in UK terror investigation
By Stephen Fidler and Ben Hall in London, James Wilson in Manchester and Krishna Guha in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: July 1 2007 18:44 | Last updated: July 2 2007 12:05


Two more men were arrested as British police pursued a manhunt for suspected terrorists following failed car bomb attacks in Glasgow and London.

The arrests of the men, aged 28 and 25, were made by Strathclyde police late on Sunday, and bring to seven the total number of people being held over the three attempted bombings.

Police and security officials were still trying to establish the identity and nationality of five people arrested at the weekend, including the critically injured driver of a car that drove into Glasgow airport terminal on Saturday and his passenger.

Early boost for terror probe

Stephen Fidler suggests air travellers and air travel will bear the burden of the security response to the attempted terrorist attacks
Police said the latest arrests were a result of “intensive police operations in the Paisley area last night”.

Assistant Chief Constable John Malcolm, of Strathclyde Police said: “This continues to be a fast-moving investigation and I am grateful to the public for their perseverance and support during these difficult times. I would continue to urge people to be vigilant.”

Government officials said they were hopeful of finding links between the cell, at least some of whom appeared to be recent arrivals in the country, and other individuals that they had under surveillance.

The government threat level remained at critical, the highest on a five-step indicating another attack could be imminent. Security at airports and at public events, such as Wimbledon, has been sharply stepped up.

Cars were stopped from dropping off passengers at terminals at all UK airports from Sunday. Gordon Brown, prime minister, said he wanted “the ordinary business of the country to continue”. But he asked members of the public to be ready for extra roadside checks on cars “in the course of the next few days”.

Airport officials said all passengers should expect to be searched, instead of one in three, as had been usual. BAA advised travellers to take public transport to terminals.

The government’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the threat level after an attempted car-bomb attack at Glasgow airport on Saturday. Officials said the decision was taken based on the likelihood that another attack could happen, rather than on specific information that another attack was planned.

The US has stepped up security at its airports and posted additional armed marshals on flights to and from the UK. Michael Chertoff, US homeland security secretary, said: “We will be doing some elevated air marshal work and some other activities with respect to UK travel.”

Two men were arrested after the attempt to ram a flaming Jeep Cherokee into the Glasgow airport terminal. The driver, who set himself alight after the attack faltered, is in critical condition with severe burns and under police guard at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. A controlled explosion was carried out by police on a vehicle in the hospital’s car park on Sunday.

A passenger in the Jeep was arrested at the airport after the attack. The Jeep contained gas canisters and containers of petrol, as had two Mercedes cars found less than 48 hours earlier in London’s West End.

Police expressed confidence they would gain a thorough understanding of the planning of the attacks and the network involved. Peter Clarke, Scotland Yard’s chief anti-terrorism officer, said information was being obtained hour-by-hour. “The links between the three incidents are becoming ever clearer,” he said. “We are pursuing many lines of inquiry.”

Police arrested a 26-year-old man in Liverpool. Two houses in the city were also raided. A man aged 26 and a woman of 27 were arrested on the M6 heading north in Cheshire. Addresses were searched in the Glasgow suburbs and in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Various British media organisations reported that the two arrested on the M6 were doctors, and that one of them worked at North Staffordshire Hospital, but there was no official confirmation of this.

Jacqui Smith, the new home secretary, said she would make a statement to parliament on Monday.