TV stations claim chemical attack foiled

BRITAIN: British and American intelligence agencies have reportedly foiled a planned chemical bomb attack in Britain.

BRITAIN: British and American intelligence agencies have reportedly foiled a planned chemical bomb attack in Britain.

American television's ABC News first reported - and the BBC subsequently claimed to have confirmed - that surveillance of a group sympathetic to al-Qaeda had uncovered the plan to detonate a "toxic" mix of explosives and a chemical called osmium tetroxide.

However, while Scotland Yard refused to comment on the reports or speculation about possible targets, it was also reported last night that security authorities do not believe the suspects have yet got their hands on the chemical, which can be destructive to the eyes, lungs and skins.

And Mr Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University, said osmium tetroxide did not fit the profile of a typical chemical warfare or "dirty bomb" agent.

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Prof Hay also suggested the use of the chemical would not cause a major "contamination" problem and that "clean up would not be a major problem".

He told the BBC: "It would not be in the same category as some radioactive substance which would continue to emit radiation and cause a problem with clean up. This would be something present, like a heavy metal like lead, in the environment. I don't think it would be a major hazard and clean up would not be a major problem."

There was no police support for some press reports suggesting Gatwick Airport or the London Underground as likely targets for attack by this unspecified group although, again, usually reliable sources indicated the belief that the likely target for the long-feared terrorist attack is more likely to be a crowded public place rather than an official or government building.

Dramatic headlines reporting the latest terrorist scare highlighted the ongoing difficulty for the British government and the security services in balancing the protection of vital sources and intelligence with the need to keep the British public alert to the ongoing level of threat.

However mounting political anxiety about the failure to properly prepare the public was reflected yesterday by the Conservative "Homeland" defence spokesman Mr Patrick Mercer, who called for a campaign of information and public training to equip people to respond properly if, for example, they found themselves trapped in the Underground. "I do think it's a gross oversight by the government not to tell people what the threat is and what people should do about it," he said.

That concern was also echoed by the Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, who said the Metropolitan Police should be doing more to train businesses to respond to an emergency.

Mr Kennedy also called for the appointment of a specially dedicated MI5 adviser to the London Mayor, Mr Ken Livingstone, to keep him informed on all aspects of the ongoing terror threat and contingency planning. And he said more could be done to develop the London Emergency volunteer reserve force. Mr Kennedy said London had been well protected in the past but changing circumstances required a stepping-up in the exchange of information.