London attacks still a threat

2005-08-16 10:46

Robert MacPherson

London - Britain remains "worried" by the prospect of a repeat of last month's deadly bombings in London despite the swift pace of a continuing police investigation, home secretary Charles Clarke said on Monday.

"We remain worried. It would be ridiculous for us to assume that a further act could not take place," Clarke said after a briefing at Scotland Yard with Sir Ian Blair, head of London's metropolitan police.

Fifty-six people were killed, including four apparent suicide bombers, in the July 7 attack on three Underground railway trains and a double-decker bus in the British capital.

Those attacks were followed two weeks later by a failed attempt to repeat the blasts. Police are holding three key suspects in connection with that incident, with a fourth detained in Rome pending extradition.

Attacks bear al-Qaeda hallmark

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has said the attacks bear the "hallmarks" of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, but rejects assertions that they were the result of Britain's military presence in Iraq.

With the police investigation under way, Blair has set out a series of new anti-terrorist measures including the deportation of radical Islamists who have settled in Britain from abroad, often as asylum seekers.

Clarke, the cabinet minister in charge of public security, said: "It would be foolish for me or for anyone to say we've eliminated the risk (of another attack).

"We haven't. The risk needs to be contested, and that's what we're doing."

He acknowledged that "no particular intelligence" points to the existence of a third cell that might carry out an attack.

But he added: "We are working on the basis that the people who organised these attacks could proceed with other attacks as well."

"One of the main purposes of the investigation which is rolling ahead very strongly is to identify any linkages (between the July 7 and July 21 incidents) which will help us to act more effectively to reduce that likelihood."

Suspects charged

Blair, Britain's most senior police officer, reiterated his previously stated belief that "the fact that there were two attacks makes it more than less likely" there will be more attempts.

"It's just the logic of this, and we are working incredibly hard with the intelligence services to prevent it," he said.

A total of 39 people have been arrested in the wake of the attacks, including three prime suspects in the July 21 attempts who have been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and possession of explosives.

Most of the others who have been charged are accused of withholding information from police.

Ten foreigners have meanwhile been detained pending deportation on grounds of national security.

Clarke said the government would continue to take action against people whose presence in Britain was "not conducive to the public good".

- AFP