Brits admit fears of attack
2004-04-07 13:16
London - Almost three out of four people believe an al-Qaeda terrorist attack is inevitable, according to a poll of British voters published in London's Times newspaper on Wednesday.
The Populus poll found that despite the belief of 73% of those polled that there would be a major al-Qaeda terrorist attack in Britain "before long", only 12% had changed their plans or routines because of the terrorist threat.
A large majority, 80%, thought that Muslim leaders in Britain should do more to root out and condemn terrorist sympathisers within their communities.
Just over half, 51%, opposed the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq to lessen the terrorist threat, as against 43% thought they should pull out.
There was strong support for the introduction of compulsory identification cards, with 72% in favour, to help counter terrorism.
The poll comes the day after it was widely reported in the media that British and US intelligence services had foiled a suspected plot to detonate a chemical bomb in Britain by a group thought to be sympathetic to Al-Qaeda.
Police have refused to comment.
Security services were said to have intercepted communications between potential attackers, who were believed to be planning to detonate a combination of explosive and a highly toxic substance called osmium tetroxide, according to the reports.
Britain, a staunch ally of the United States in Iraq and in its "war on terror", remains on a heightened state of alert against a feared attack on its soil, particularly following the Madrid bombings last month.
Populus surveyed 1 045 adults between April 2 and 4.