London faces the threat of more terrorist attacks despite increased security after the deadly July bombings, a senior police chief said today.
Assistant Commissioner Andrew Hayman, who heads London's anti-terrorist operations, said detectives were tracking a number of potential suspects not linked to the events in July.
Four British Muslims killed themselves and 52 others in suicide bombings on three underground trains and a bus on July 7th. Two weeks later, four bombers failed in an attempt to repeat the attacks.
"I don't want to scaremonger but it has to be said, when you look around the world and at the prominence of London, that the threat is real," Mr Hayman said in an interview with Britain's Guardiannewspaper.
Mr Hayman added that no master plot had been discovered, and he gave no details of the terror threat or those under observation.
The family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian mistakenly shot dead by police who thought he was a suicide bomber, will today meet the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the shooting.
Police shot Mr Menezes (27) seven times in the head on July 22nd as he boarded an underground train at Stockwell station in south London.
They were hunting men behind a botched attack the previous day and believed the electrician had a bomb.
Yesterday, the family visited Stockwell station and demanded justice for their son. "Only Jesus knows our pain and suffering," said a tearful Maria Otone de Menezes, the dead man's mother. "We are here for justice."