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MI5 'had tapes of bomber'
14/05/2006 14:30 - (SA)
London - Britain's domestic spy agency failed to inform a parliamentary watchdog that it bugged the presumed ringleader of last year's bomb attacks in London and heard him talking about building a bomb, the Sunday Times said.
The newspaper claimed MI5 had a secret tape of Mohammed Sidique Khan talking about how to build the explosive device and leaving the country to avoid police detection, without citing sources.
It claimed transcripts of the tape were never disclosed to the cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) before it reported on the attacks last Thursday.
The report noted that Khan and two of the other bombers briefly crossed the security radar but they were considered peripheral figures and not pursued.
MI5 and other agencies were largely exonerated of security failings for not preventing the worst terrorist attack on British soil, leading to accusations of a "whitewash" by opposition politicians and families of victims.
A total of 56 people, including Khan and his three fellow Muslim extremist accomplices, were killed in the attacks on London's public transport network.
The newspaper said it had spoken to an ISC member who admitted they had not seen transcripts of MI5's tapes, which also included Khan talking about his plans to wage jihad - or holy war - and go to Al-Qaeda training camps abroad.
Instead, he reportedly said they took evidence from senior security officials and accepted their assessment that Khan was not deemed a serious risk.
The unnamed committee member said that if the transcripts showed Khan had discussed bomb-making and attacking targets, they had been "seriously misled".
"If that is the case, it amounts to a scandal. I would be outraged," he was quoted as saying.
The Sunday Times said the disclosures would heighten calls for an independent public inquiry into the bombings. The government has so far refused to hold one.
- SAPA
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