Several doctors arrested over the London and Glasgow car bomb plot were on the files of MI5, it has been disclosed. At least one was on a Home Office watch list after being identified by security services - meaning their travel in and out of Britain was monitored by immigration officers. Others were found to be on the MI5 database, which contains an estimated 2,000 suspected jihadists or supporters of terrorism. Whitehall sources said they had not been involved in previous plots, but were "people who knew people'' who were under observation.
| Bet they also have files on people who know people who know another guy who once sat on a bus with a person who was on another list |
The fact that they were "on the radar" was one reason why the investigation has moved so fast since the failed plot was sprung last Friday morning.
Seven NHS doctors have been arrested over the latest alleged conspiracy, most of them originating from the Middle East. The investigation spans the world, with an eighth suspect arrested in Australia.
After a frantic four days of investigation and with Britain in the midst of a major security operation, police are confident that they have all the "major suspects" in custody. The arrest of an Indian doctor at Brisbane airport on Monday was described as a "watershed" in the inquiry. Scotland Yard asked their Australian counterparts to swoop on Dr Mohammed Haneef, 27. He was at the airport with a one-way ticket to India, having not told his employers or his landlord of any plans to leave.
The international nature of the alleged conspiracy and the fact that the suspects being held worked as doctors has surprised investigators.
American intelligence sources suggested yesterday that some cell members were recruited by al-Qa'eda in Iraq up to three years ago.
But British security sources insisted there was no intelligence that al-Qa'eda commanders plotted to infiltrate the NHS. |
American intelligence sources suggested yesterday that some cell members were recruited by al-Qa'eda in Iraq up to three years ago. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, an insurgency leader, was said to have been ordered to find young men to blend into Western society before staging an attack, said the CBS television network in America.
But British security sources insisted there was no intelligence that al-Qa'eda commanders plotted to infiltrate the NHS. | Careful with their wording, they are. This article says Zarqawi recruited them when he was head of al-Q in Iraq. |
Most of the alleged cell members arrived in this country after 2004 to take up NHS jobs. It is believed they were recruited in Britain. Whitehall sources said that, as yet, there was no sign of any orders, instructions or training from al-Qa'eda based in Pakistan.
There has also been none of the tell-tale ''chatter'' on jihadi websites that usually follows such attacks. It is possible that this is because the attacks failed and Islamist groups are reluctant to be seen endorsing them. |