Guardian : All 11 men arrested during anti-terror raids released without charge

All 11 men arrested during anti-terror raids released without charge

Police deny that bringing arrests forward disrupted investigation

Sandra Laville, Richard Norton-Taylor and Stephen Bates | April 22, 2009

Greater Manchester Police have released without charge all 11 men arrested a fortnight ago in the north-west of England over an alleged terror plot. The last two men to be released have joined nine others given their freedom last night.

Gordon Brown had claimed the operation uncovered a "very big plot" against the UK.

In a statement, Greater Manchester police said: "The 11 men were questioned and the evidence gathered presented to the CPS who advised there was insufficient evidence gathered within the permitted timescales which would have allowed a warrant of further detention to be gathered or charges to be pursued.

"It is not possible to bail people under terrorism legislation so the men were released.

"Public safety is always the police's top priority and all information is fully considered and acted upon appropriately to minimise risk to the public."

In a press conference on the steps of the police headquarters, chief constable Peter Fahy said: "These people are innocent and they walk away … there are constant threats to this country but we totally respect the situation, we respect that they are innocent until proved guilty."

Fahy denied that there had been a dispute with the security services or that bringing the arrests forward by up to 12 hours had disrupted the investigation. He criticised speculation by outsiders, including retired officers, but added: "I have not conducted any speculation. I do not feel embarrassed or humiliated by what we have done because we have carried out our duty. I don't think a mistake has been made at all."

The BBC has reported that security services continue to maintain that a terrorist plot had been disrupted by the operation.

Nine of the men are due to be deported after being handed over to the UK Border Agency but it was not immediately clear what would happen to the last two men. One of the 11 is understood to be a British national. The releases came after investigators spent 13 days searching for evidence following the arrests from a number of addresses in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire under the Terrorism Act.

The police operation was condemned today by a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain. Inayat Bunglawala told Radio 4's Today programme: "When these arrests took place in very dramatic circumstances with students being pulled from universities and thrown to the floor, we were told by the prime minister, no less, that this was part of a very big terrorist plot. Clearly there just has not been the evidence produced to substantiate such a plot.

"We would hope that senior ministers and the prime minister will understand that it is completely unfair to make prejudicial and premature remarks in cases like this.

"It is perfectly understandable that not every arrest the police make will result in charges being brought … that is the nature of this sort of police work. What is unacceptable is for the government to make prejudicial remarks right at the outset.

"Now that we learn that actual evidence cannot be gathered to substantiate any terror plot, instead of releasing them with good grace and making clear a mistake has been made, the government is seeking to deport them, citing a very vague national security threat. That is a very dishonourable way of proceeding."

The raids led to the resignation of the country's leading counter-terrorism officer, Bob Quick, after he inadvertently allowed details of the operation to be photographed. Before the men had been interviewed the prime minister spoke of how the police had foiled a "very big plot", but as early as last Monday it emerged the government had spoken to Pakistani officials seeking reassurances that if the men were deported they would not be tortured.

The Guardian understands the decision to arrest the suspects on 8 April came after a three-way row between MI5, senior officers in the Metropolitan police and the Greater Manchester police. MI5 was strongly of the opinion that the arrests should wait while more intelligence was gathered. But in an example of the tensions between Whitehall counter-terrorism officials and their counterparts in the police, the decision was made to take "executive action" even though the intelligence suggested there was little evidence to charge the suspects.

It is understood anti-terrorist officers in the Met disagreed with their counterparts in Greater Manchester that the arrests should be made. But the concern that there was a threat to the public led to the decision being made to move in.

Investigators had desperately hoped they would find something at the suspects' homes. But after initially hunting for, and failing to find, bomb-making equipment, they turned to the computers with their fingers crossed that some evidence of a plot would turn up. They found nothing substantial.

Despite media reports and the plot being talked up by Brown, there was never any evidence that the suspects had identified targets for an attack.

The arrests came several hours earlier than the police had planned after Quick accidentally allowed a top secret briefing document on the raids, Operation Pathway, to be caught on camera by a photographer outside Downing Street when he went to brief ministers on the action. The error led to his resignation after politicians condemned the security breach.

But although police sources said bringing forward the arrests may have compromised the operation, it was only brought forward by hours, which is unlikely to have substantially reduced the amount of evidence available to investigators.

Greater Manchester police said last night that nine of the men, aged between 22 and 38, had been transferred into the custody of the UK Borders Agency. The Home Office said: "We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security. The government's highest priority is to protect public safety. Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate."

Officers from the north-west counter-terrorism unit arrested 12 men under the Terrorism Act following the raids on 8 April. Of the 12 men initially arrested, 11 are Pakistani nationals, 10 held student visas and one is British.

Greater Manchester police said searches were continuing at a property in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. "Protecting the public is the main focus of the police. These arrests were carried out after a number of UK agencies gathered information that indicated a potential risk to public safety," the force said. A 12th suspect, an 18-year-old, was released without charge and handed to the Border Agency for deportation on 11 April.

The arrests led to claims that the student visa system contained loopholes which allowed abuse by people attempting to enter the country for illegal activities.

The government has admitted that the system is flawed and, two weeks ago, introduced tougher measures designed to root out false applications. At the time of the arrests counter-terrorism sources expressed the fear that al-Qaida was using Pakistani students not known to the security services.

Times : Students held in 'terror' raids freed without charge

Students held in 'terror' raids freed without charge

Sean O’Neill, Crime and Security Editor, Steve Bird, and Hannah Fletcher | April 22, 2009

Nine men detained in a security operation intended to thwart what the Prime Minister said was “a very big terrorist plot” were released without charge last night.

The men, Pakistani citizens who were in Britain on student visas, were handed by police into the custody of immigration authorities and now face deportation on national security grounds. Aged between 22 and 38, they had been detained for 13 out of a possible 28 days but were released because there was no evidence connecting them to terrorist activity.

Two of the 12 men arrested during Operation Pathway on April 8 are still being questioned under anti-terrorism legislation. An 18-year-old student was transferred to the custody of the UK Border Agency after three days in detention.

Mohammed Ayub, a lawyer for three of the men, called for an independent inquiry into Operation Pathway and said their deportation orders would be challenged. “Our clients have no criminal history, they were here lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and working part-time,” he said. “They are neither extremists nor terrorists. Their arrest and detention has been a serious breach of their human rights. As a minimum they are entitled to an unreserved apology.”

The investigation into alleged al-Qaeda activity in the North West involved 14 properties in Manchester, Liverpool and Clitheroe, Lancashire, being searched by specialist teams.

The arrests were brought forward by 12 hours after Bob Quick, Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism, accidentally disclosed details of the raids to Downing Street photographers while on his way to brief Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary.

Mr Quick, Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, resigned, admitting that he had compromised a high-level security operation. Ms Smith told the House of Commons this week that the error had not damaged the operation and that the only impact had been that the raids had been brought forward “by a matter of hours”.

However, The Times understands that even before Mr Quick quit there were furious disagreements between Scotland Yard, which is supposed to have national responsibility for counter-terrorism, the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit, led by Greater Manchester Police, and MI5.

Security sources said that the arrests were premature and complained that police had panicked after picking up intelligence “chatter” that appeared to discuss timings and targets. Some of the suspects were allegedly under surveillance while photographing and filming at Manchester shopping centres and a nightclub.

It was hoped that the arrests and searches would produce evidence of bomb-making activity or components.

At one point a block of flats in Liverpool was evacuated but no explosive material was found. Attention later turned to the forensic examination of the suspects’ computers, but sources say that nothing has been found which can incriminate the men.

The Times reported last week that British officials had talks with Pakistani officials and were seeking assurances that none of the suspects would suffer torture if he was deported to Pakistan. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said that searches were continuing at one property in the city.

In the aftermath of the arrests the Prime Minister complained that Pakistan was not doing enough to help Britain to fight terrorism. Pakistan claimed that Britain did not carry out enough checks on young men entering the country, and the spotlight fell on the potential exploitation of the student visa programme by terrorist groups.

Ministers admitted that the student visa scheme was a weak link in British border security. The families of several of the men have protested that their sons were innocent, hard-working students.

The nine men have the right to contest deportation through the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. It can overturn decisions by the Home Secretary to deport people on national security grounds.

Guardian : Nine men arrested over suspected terror plot released to UK borders agency

Nine men arrested over suspected terror plot released to UK borders agency

Mark Tran | April 21, 2009

Britain tonight moved to deport nine men arrested earlier this month following one of the country's biggest anti-terror operations since the July 7 attacks in 2005.

The men have not been charged with any offences nearly two weeks after being arrested in raids across Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire. Two other men remain in custody. The nine men, aged between 22 and 38, were tonight released by Greater Manchester police into the custody of the UK Borders Agency (UKBA) in preparation for deportation to Pakistan.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security. The government's highest priority is to protect public safety. Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate."

The arrests were mired in controversy as the operation had to be rushed forward following an embarrassing security leak by Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, the then head of Scotland Yard's specialist operations wing.

Quick was photographed clutching sensitive documents as he arrived in Downing Street. Clearly visible on top of a large bundle of papers under his arm was a white document marked "secret" that carried an outline for briefing on a current counter-terrorism operation.

Realising the existence of the ­photos of the ­document – which included the names of several senior officers, sensitive locations and details about the nature of the overseas threat – a "D notice" was imposed by the government to restrict the media from revealing the contents of the picture. Quick resigned days after the arrests and the security blunder.

Counterterrorism officials at the time of the arrests said they believed an alleged al-Qaida terror plot against the UK, designed to cause mass casualties, was to have been carried out within days. Twelve men were arrested. Eleven of them were Pakistani nationals, 10 of whom were on student visas. A twelfth man was transferred to immigration officials earlier this month.

A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman (GMP) tonight said that searches are continuing at a property in Galsworthy Avenue, Cheetham Hill, Manchester.

The GMP spokeswoman said: "Protecting the public is the main focus of the police. These arrests were carried out after a number of UK agencies gathered information that indicated a potential risk to public safety.

"Officers are continuing to review a large amount of information gathered as part of this investigation.

"Investigations of this nature are extremely complex. We remain grateful to the support and cooperation of the communities affected."

Officials have not released details about the reported terror plot but the prime minister, Gordon Brown, called it "very big."

The 12 men were taken at seven locations across north-west England, and at least another eight addresses in the region were searched. Scores of students witnessed one arrest, carried out at Liverpool John Moores University.

The arrests were carried out in daylight because of the security leak, in direct contravention of the usual practice of arresting people while they sleep.

Moves to deport the nine men could lead to friction between Britain and Pakistan. Earlier this month the head of Pakistan's interior ministry, Rehman Malik, said Britain should charge and prosecute the suspects if it has enough evidence.

UPI : Britain deporting terror suspects

Britain deporting terror suspects | April 21, 2009

LONDON, April 21 (UPI) -- Nine men questioned in a terrorist plot investigation in Britain will not be charged and instead deported to Pakistan, police say.

Two others among those detained April 8 in Operation Pathway were still being questioned, while one other was released earlier, The Times Online reported Tuesday.

The men, ages 22-38, are Pakistani citizens who were in Britain on student visas. Police turned them over to immigration authorities for deportation on national security grounds, The Times said.

An attorney for three of the men said their deportation orders would be challenged and called for an independent investigation off the matter.

"Our clients have no criminal history, they were here lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and working part-time," Mohammed Ayub said. "They are neither extremists nor terrorists. Their arrest and detention has been a serious breach of their human rights. As a minimum they are entitled to an unreserved apology."

The nine men can contest deportation through the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

PRESS TV : UK frees last 2 Pakistani terror suspects

UK frees last 2 Pakistani terror suspects

April 22, 2009

British police have released the two remaining terror suspects who were arrested earlier this month after failing to charge any of the men.

12 Pakistani students were detained in a highly publicized anti-terror operation across northwest England earlier this month and were handed over to Britain's Border Agency for deportation.

The news was an embarrassment for authorities, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown who had claimed that police had moved on to disrupt "a very big terrorist plot" after monitoring the suspects "for some time".

The arrests have also caused turmoil in London-Karachi relations.

British officials have said they seek to deport all but one of the men on national security grounds, the Associated Press reported.

The prospects of deportation, however, have been opposed by Pakistan where Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said on Wednesday that there is no base for such action "if there is no evidence against them."

"They can't be tried in Britain if they are innocent," he added. "They should be allowed to continue their studies and live normal lives."

Meanwhile, British Muslim community is showing discontent as the police failed to show solid evidence of a plot.

Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has criticized the deportations as "a dishonorable way of proceeding".

"Instead of releasing them with good grace and making clear a mistake has been made, the government is seeking to deport them citing a very vague national security threat," MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told the BBC.

FA/MD

The News : Tribal jirga asks UK to free youth

Tribal jirga asks UK to free youth

April 22, 2009

WANA: After the arrest of his young son Abdul Wahab in UK on terror charges, the father of the victim lost the faculty of hearing due to the trauma the whole family was passing through.

This was revealed here on Tuesday by chiefs of the Burki tribe in a jirga that was convened at the house of Malik Muhammad Qareeb Burki. The jirga elders included Malik Abdul Qadeer Khan, Malik Jan Alam, Dr Taj Muhammad, Dr Muhammad Shafi, Irfan Burki, Rasool Jan and several others.

Addressing the jirga, 80-year-old elder of the Burki tribe, Malik Qareeb said he did not expect this treatment from the British. He said there was a time when the British were known for their fair-play and justice, particularly in this part of the world while they were ruling the subcontinent.

Qareeb said the elders who had experienced their government in the sub-continent to date recalled and praised their sense of responsibility and the way they ruled the hearts and mind of the people.

He said the Burki tribe was utterly shocked at the manner 11 innocent Pakistan students, including Abdul Wahab were arrested on baseless charges of plotting terror in the UK. The elder said the Burki never indulged in violence or terror-related incidents and the fact could be got verified as the whole tribe vouched for the innocence of Abdul Wahab. The brother of the arrested youth, Gulzar Jan Burki, said due to grief his frail and aged father Malik Khan Muhammad Burki had lost the sense of hearing while their mother was in extreme trauma.

He said the 26-year-old Wahab had gone to the UK in the first week of October 2006 on valid visa with the dream of doing his master’s in computer science and his last semester was nearing completion.

However, the British police held him on false charges as he was never a terrorist but a law-abiding person. The jirga on the occasion demanded of the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Foreign Minister David Miliband and the British high commissioner in Pakistan to release him forthwith and save the family from undergoing further torture and agony. It may be added here that Wahab hails from the underdeveloped southern district of Tank who was arrested in UK along 10 other Pakistani students by the British police.

The Australian : Terror raid arrested freed without charge

Terror raid arrested freed without charge

Article from: Agence France-Presse | From correspondents in London | April 22, 2009

THE two remaining suspects among 12 mostly Pakistani men arrested during a major anti-terror operation in northwest England this month have been released without charge today, police say.

A police spokesman said the men were 41 and 23 years old.

Their release comes just hours after police handed over nine other men, aged between 22 and 38, to the UK Border Agency without charging them.

One 18-year-old student was released to the immigration authorities three days after the raids.

"All of the suspects arrested by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit during the recent operation have now been released," Greater Manchester Police said.

The 12 were arrested on April 8 in pre-dawn swoops in Manchester and Liverpool.

Of the group, 11 were Pakistani nationals, 10 had student visas and one was from Britain.

Police said that of the 12 men, 11 were now in the custody of British immigration officials, who have said they will be deported.

The police statement said prosecutors had advised that there was "insufficient evidence gathered within the permitted timescales which would have allowed a warrant of further detention to be gathered or charges to be pursued."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said police were investigating a "major terrorist plot", and police defended the arrests on Tuesday on the grounds of public safety.

The anti-terror raids had to be brought forward after Britain's top counter-terrorism policeman was photographed holding clearly legible briefing notes on the operation.

He resigned over the gaffe.

The arrests, and the revelations that 10 of the men held were on student visas, have put Brown's government under pressure to strengthen its visa rules.

Sky News : Terror Suspects Handed To UK Borders Agency

Terror Suspects Handed To UK Borders Agency

April 21, 2009

Nine men arrested under the Terrorism Act over an alleged Easter bomb plot have been released into the custody of the UK Borders Agency.

Police said two men remain in custody following the high-profile raids in Greater Manchester, Liverpool, and Lancashire on April 8.

A total of 12 men - 11 Pakistani nationals and one Afghan - were held in the operation on suspicion of planning attacks in the North West.

Last week, an 18-year-old was transferred into the custody of the UK Borders Agency.

Now, the North West Counter Terrorism Unit has confirmed that nine more - aged between 22 and 38 - have been handed over to the agency in preparation for deportation.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security.

"The Government's highest priority is to protect public safety.

"Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country, we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate."

But Sky News' home affairs correspondent Mark White said their release will raise a number of questions.

"It's painfully clear from the Home Office statement that the Government still considers these 10 individuals a direct threat to national security," he said.

"But the question will be asked, if that's the case why have these individuals not been charged and the case put before the courts in this country.

"It does seem that police have not been able to gather enough evidence to mount a successful prosecution in the UK, so the next best option was to deport them to their countries of origin."

Lawyers for three of the men insist their clients are innocent and plan to challenge the deportation efforts.

The solicitors based in Bradford said: "Their arrest and detention has been a very serious breach of their human rights."

The raids were brought forward because of a gaffe by Britain's top counter-terrorist officer.

Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick resigned after the security breach when he was photographed carrying a secret document containing details of the operation into 10 Downing Street.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Officers are continuing to review a large amount of information gathered as part of this investigation.

"Investigations of this nature are extremely complex. We remain grateful to the support and co-operation of the communities affected."

He said searches are continuing at an address at Galsworthy Avenue, in Cheetham Hill, Manchester.

CNN : Nine of 11 England terror suspects released

Nine of 11 England terror suspects released

* Border officials want men deported despite lack of evidence to charge them
* Agency: We want to remove men "on grounds of national security"
* Men had been held in association with alleged terror plot in northern England
* Widespread arrests made after police official photographed with name of suspects

April 21, 2009

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Nine of the 11 Pakistani nationals being held in an alleged terror plot in northern England were released Tuesday, according to police.
Police officers guard a house in Manchester, England, following raids and arrests of terror suspects.

The arrests were made the week before Easter and came quickly after Britain's chief terrorism officer, who has since resigned, exposed a list of people who were suspected of planning an al Qaeda-linked attack.

Britain's Greater Manchester Police said the men were released into the custody of the U.K.'s border agency, which will determine whether they can legally remain in England. Police and the border agency said they want the men deported, even though investigators apparently were unable to find enough evidence to charge them with crimes.

"We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security. The government's highest priority is to protect public safety," said a statement from the agency. "Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country, we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate."

Twelve people originally were arrested April 8, and one had been released before Tuesday. Two people remained in custody, authorities said.

Police said that at the time of the arrests, their investigation compelled them to take action, even without the blunder made by Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick.

The document he was carrying when photographed outside 10 Downing Street contained the names of those to be arrested, and a source said photographers were able to easily read the names when they enlarged the photographs.

Once the word was out, police rushed to make the arrests. Authorities said those actions would have been taken in the following 24 hours anyway.

The men -- ranging in age from 18 to 22 -- were arrested in Manchester, about 200 miles northwest of London. They had been held for 13 days without being charged. Police will need to seek an extension by Wednesday to be able to continue holding the two remaining suspects without charges.

Police say they are continuing to review evidence collected in the case and are searching at least one more house

CNN's Paula Newton in London contributed to this report.

AFP : Police free nine terror suspects

Police free nine terror suspects

April 21, 2009

LONDON (AFP) — Police have released nine men, most of them Pakistanis, who were arrested earlier this month during a major anti-terror operation, turning them over to immigration officials for deportation.

The suspects were among a group of 12 men, 11 Pakistanis and one Briton, who were arrested during a series of raids in the northwest on April 8 and held for questioning over an alleged Al-Qaeda-linked plot.

"The northwest counter-terrorism unit has released nine of those arrested as part of a national operation," a police spokeswoman said.

"Protecting the public is the main focus of the police. These arrests were carried out after a number of UK agencies gathered information that indicated a potential risk to public safety."

Most of the group was released into the custody of the UK Border Agency, which controls immigration and which said it would hold them until they could be deported.

"We are seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security," a border agency spokeswoman said.

"The government's highest priority is to protect public safety. Where a foreign national poses a threat to this country, we will seek to exclude or to deport, where this is appropriate."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said police were investigating a "major terrorist plot", and police defended the arrests on the grounds of public safety.

Two men remain in police custody, while the last suspect was turned over to the UK Border Agency on April 11.

Brown's government has come under pressure to strengthen its visa rules after it emerged that 10 of the suspects were in Britain on student visas.

Relatives of the suspects in Pakistan had pleaded their innocence, and in a statement issued late Tuesday, a lawyer for three of the men said he would challenge any attempt to deport them.

"Our clients have no criminal history, they were here lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and working part-time," said Mohammed Ayub, who is based in Bradford.

"Our clients are neither extremists nor terrorists. Their arrest and detention has been a very serious breach of their human rights."

The anti-terror raids had to be brought forward after Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer was photographed holding clearly legible briefing notes on the operation. He resigned over the gaffe.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

NYT : Britain Prepares to Deport 9 Terrorism Suspects

Britain Prepares to Deport 9 Terrorism Suspects

By JOHN F. BURNS | April 21, 2009

LONDON — Two weeks after hundreds of police officers staged raids in northern England and arrested 12 men in what Prime Minister Gordon Brown described as “a very big terrorist plot,” the police released nine of them on Tuesday and handed them over to Britain’s border control agency for deportation to Pakistan.

Two other men remained in police custody for further questioning under Britain’s Terrorism Act. Another man had been handed over previously to the border agency for deportation.

A Home Office spokesman, referring to the transfer of the nine suspects to the border agency, said the government was “seeking to remove these individuals on grounds of national security,” suggesting that some kind of plot was still under investigation. A police spokeswoman in the northern city of Manchester, which the British news media had portrayed as the focal point of the plot described by Mr. Brown, said the investigations were continuing.

But Britain’s security agencies appeared to have pulled back from earlier suggestions that they had foiled a major imminent attack involving infiltrators with Al Qaeda sent to Britain from Pakistan on student visas. After the arrests on April 8, senior officials were quoted in British newspapers as saying they had moved against the 12 men after deciding that a bombing attack involving mass casualties was only days from being carried out, probably against a target in Manchester, possibly a crowded shopping center over the Easter weekend.

The Manchester police spokeswoman who announced the transfer of the nine men to the border agency said the arrests had been carried out after security agencies “gathered information that indicated a potential risk to public safety.” That was a far more guarded formulation than Mr. Brown used in the immediate aftermath of the arrests, in a statement in which he demanded that Pakistan do more to root out terrorism. He also said that Britain would tighten up on student visas for Pakistanis.

The police operation on April 8 was one of the most elaborate in the lengthening history of British counterterrorism crackdowns since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States and the transit bombings in London in July 2005 that killed 56 people, including the four suicide bombers. Hundreds of police officers, many armed with submachine guns, staged daylight raids in at least 10 locations, including a university library in Manchester. Eleven of the 12 men they arrested, who were 22 to 38 years old, were Pakistanis, 10 of them in Britain on student visas.

The arrests followed a blunder by Scotland Yard’s counterterrorism chief, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, who arrived for a meeting with Mr. Brown holding a dossier in his hands with details of the planned police raids visible in pictures taken by news photographers. The Home Office issued an order banning the publication of the photographs, and ordered the raids carried out 12 hours sooner than planned. Mr. Quick resigned his post after being told he had lost the government's confidence.

Pakistan Times : UK lawyers raise detained Pak students issue

UK lawyers raise detained Pak students issue

'Pakistan Times' Foreign Desk | April 21, 2009

LONDON (UK): Association of UK-based Pakistani Lawyers has raised the issue of detained Pakistani students on terrorism suspicion and has called for due process of law.

In a statement, the APL Chairman Amjad Malik has demanded that British Government must allow the detained Pakistani students to have access to their respective country’s mission as protected by diplomatic norms and convention and as well as access to their family member(s) to confirm their arrest and well being.

Furthermore, the students be allowed to have access to their attorney of choice as protected by Article 6(3) c of the European Convention on Human Rights 195,and the UK authorities also allow the detained Pakistani students to have a periodical check up with the respective medical officer to ensure they are not tortured.

Malik said the British Government must also ensure that the detained Pakistani students have access to their basic human rights such as right to have a free and fair trial believing them innocent until proven guilty and their right to liberty must be protected through its free, independent, Civil and Constitutional Courts.

'If there is any evidence against them, they be allowed to face a trial by charging them rather than keeping them under administrative detention where nothing is known and one sided media trial takes place on limited information,' he said.

Ten of those 12 arrested are Pakistan-born nationals on student visas and one is a UK-born British national. One Afghani national has been transferred to the UK Border and Immigration Agency.

Access to PHC

Another report says that the officials, hailing from Pakistani High Commission (PHC) in London, have been granted permission to meet Pakistani nationals arrested in UK here on Tuesday, Geo news reported.

According to diplomatic sources, some dignitaries of Pakistani High Commission have been permitted to meet the 12 arrested Pakistani nationals in UK who were detained over alleged suspicion of having links with terrorists. The arrested persons comprised 10 Pakistani nationals, one Afghani and one British citizen.

Earlier, despite several endeavors by the officials of Pakistani High Commission (PHC) to have access to under arrest Pakistani nationals, UK government barred them from meet, sources said.

But this time, having allowed PHC’s officials access to under custody Pakistani nationals, UK officials did not belly-out reason for granting permission, sources added. According to UK officials, the access was not being granted, as what they term; 'the issue was sensitive of nature'.

APP : UK lawyers raise detained Pak students issue

UK lawyers raise detained Pak students issue

April 21, 2009

LONDON, April 21 (APP)‑Association of UK‑based Pakistani Lawyers has raised the issue of detained Pakistani students on terrorism suspicion and has called for due process of law. In a statement, the APL Chairman Amjad Malik has demanded that British Government must allow the detained Pakistani students to have access to their respective country’s mission as protected by diplomatic norms and convention and as well as access to their family member(s) to confirm their arrest and well being.

Furthermore, the students be allowed to have access to their attorney of choice as protected by Article 6(3) c of the European Convention on Human Rights 195,and the UK authorities also allow the detained Pakistani students to have a periodical check up with the respective medical officer to ensure they are not tortured.

Malik said the British Government must also ensure that the detained Pakistani students have access to their basic human rights such as right to have a free and fair trial believing them innocent until proven guilty and their right to liberty must be protected through its free, independent, Civil and Constitutional Courts.

ôIf there is any evidence against them, they be allowed to face a trial by charging them rather than keeping them under administrative detention where nothing is known and one sided media trial takes place on limited information,ö he said.

Ten of those 12 arrested are Pakistan‑born nationals on student visas and one is a UK‑born British national. One Afghani national has been transferred to the UK Border and Immigration Agency.

Liverpool Echo : Jacqui Smith claims public safety was main factor in terror raids

Jacqui Smith claims public safety was main factor in terror raids

By Ian Hernon | April 20, 2009

HOME Secretary Jacqui Smith today claimed that "public safety" was the main factor in terror raids across Merseyside and the wider region earlier this month.

In a Commons statement she refused for "operational reasons" to be drawn on thye nature of the bomb plot allegedly underway when 12 suspects were seized.

Speculation has centred on Liverpool, a Manchester shopping centre and a night club as the primary targets.

She said: "These arrests were pre-planned as the result of an ongoing joint police and security service investigation.

"The decision to take action was an operational matter for them, but the prime minister and I were kept fully informed of developments.

"The priority at all times has been to act to maintain public safety."

Ms Smith also denied that the April 8 raids were compromised by the blunder by anti-terrorist chief Bob Quick, who has pictured in Downing Street carrying clearly visible briefing papers of the impending Operation Pathway.

She said that because of the gaffe the police brought forward the raids.

"The fact that these papers were inadvently made public did not make any difference to the decision to carry out arrests - it simply changed the timing by a matter of hours," she added.

Of those arrested 11 remain in custody and have had their detention extended to Wednesday. The 12th is an Afghan who is now in the hands of the immigration authorities and is expected to be deported.

Ms Smith praised all those involved in the operation, including Merseyside Police, saying: "They are to be commended for [the] professional manner in which they carried out the arrests."

The Peninsula : Pakistani seeks apology from Britain for son’s arrest

Pakistani seeks apology from Britain for son’s arrest

April 20, 2009

PESHAWAR: Like other families of Pakistani students held on terror charges in Britain, family members of Janas Khan, who is under detention and may face deportation, are worried about his safety.

Ahmad Jan, father of Janas Khan, yesterday said his family had no links with militants whatsoever, lamenting the attitude of Pakistani and British officials who had not contacted him to date.

Demanding his son’s immediate release, he asked the UK to tender an apology for implicating his “innocent” son in a false case.

A cloth merchant by profession and a diabetic, Jan said he was shocked to see the images of his son on television with reports of his arrest. “For God’s sake, we have no links with those people. We are respected people and deal in cloth business,” he said, adding before going to the UK, his son was employed with a pharmaceutical company here.

The worried father said his son did his SSC from Edwardes High School, FSc and graduation from Superior Science College, Peshawar and both are reputed institutions. After completing his graduation Janas Khan got a job at a medicine company Before going to UK in March 2007, he was working with a multinational pharmaceutical.

Ahmad Jan said during his stay in UK, Janas Khan would regularly contact his family to inquire about the health of his parents, especially his mother who is a heart patient and has undergone a bypass surgery.

Jan said that he talked to his son in the first week of this month, which turned out to be the last conversation until now. “His mother is still unaware of the detention of Janas Khan as we do not want her to have this information given her poor health,” Jan added.

Expressing disappointment over the ‘irresponsible’ attitude of both the UK and Pakistani officials, he said none of the two governments had informed him about his arrest even after the lapse of nine days.

Independent : Sophie Heawood: Our police should behave better than we do7

Sophie Heawood: Our police should behave better than we do

April 19, 2009

Another week, another revelation about police brutality. A second postmortem has shown it was internal bleeding, not a heart attack, that killed Ian Tomlinson after he was attacked by police at the G20 demo in London, and now there's footage of Nicola Fisher being struck by police at a vigil for him.

Of course, attacks on police happen too, and theirs is not a job I envy. I don't imagine that people sign up to the force with the lofty ambition of being a thug. But I have been going on demos all my life and the unpalatable truth is that these assaults are commonplace. The police used to film demonstrators, to identify the trouble-makers later. Now that it is so easy to own a videocamera, the demonstrators are filming them – and for exactly the same reason.

I was five when my parents first took me on a CND rally. I had never seen so many people all together in one place – it blew my tiny mind. There was something wonderful about being part of a group of people like this, walking down a street filled not with beeping cars but with cheering, happy humans.

Later I would march about the miners, the poll tax, the criminal justice Act, the Liverpool dockers, the Iraq war – all causes I believed in, but also a wonderful excuse to go outdoors with other humans and celebrate being alive.

Alas, it always turns. Perhaps it starts with a stupid protester throwing a bottle at a police horse, or shouting in an officer's face that he's a filthy pig, or worse. The police move in on you, and the danse macabre begins, as they form a human pen so you're left in no doubt that it's you, the protesters, who are the pigs. You are squashed against each other, unable to leave, even if you're desperate for a pee or a drink of water. A policeman starts shoving you, you beg him to stop, ask him for his number. He tells you to fuck off.

You see somebody on the floor bleeding from the head and an officer still seems to be kicking him and you don't know what's going on and you're jostled and powerless to stop it.

Earlier this year, on a London march for Gaza, the police routed marchers on Piccadilly into the dark car tunnel underneath Hyde Park Corner. Surprised by what we saw happening ahead, my friends and I jumped over the railings into the park to avoid it. We were the lucky ones – most couldn't escape and were forced down into the darkness in their thousands. They were then held down there for some time – I will never forget hearing the screaming.

When they finally emerged at the other side, teenagers came running over to me, asking if I was a journalist, could I help them, the police had held them down there and then let rip with their truncheons, they said. It was chaos and I felt useless.

And so I didn't join the G20 demo where Ian Tomlinson died, even though it was on my doorstep and I wanted to protest about the banks. I was too frightened of what the police would do, and of feeling too vulnerable to intervene. Sadly, my fears were warranted. And if a journalist – who has a better chance than most of raising a dissenting voice – is scared of the police, then what hope has anybody else got?

It is a grave error to believe that for a police force to be successful, it must be terrifying. It is not good enough to say that after a day of provocation, those officers had had enough. They need to be beyond reproach. They need to be better than us.

Independent : Third allegation of police brutality at G20 investigated

Third allegation of police brutality at G20 investigated

London demonstrator claims he was hit on the head and pushed near scene of Ian Tomlinson's death

By Emily Dugan | April 19, 2009

A third investigation into an allegation of police brutality at the G20 protests was launched yesterday by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). A 23-year-old man from London claimed he was hit on the head and pushed to the ground the same day that Ian Tomlinson died following an attack by police.

The incident, which was referred to the IPCC by the Metropolitan Police, is understood to have taken place between 6 and 7pm on 1 April, at a police cordon on Cornhill in the City of London. The news came as the watchdog investigates the police's role in the death of Mr Tomlinson and an assault on demonstrator Nicola Fisher on 2 April. The IPCC says it has now received at least 185 complaints about police at the G20 protests, of which just under 90 are about the use of force.

The police officer caught on film attacking Mr Tomlinson moments before he died has now been interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter after a second post-mortem found the newspaper seller died from abdominal bleeding rather than a heart attack.

The news comes as police face growing criticism from politicians and campaigners for their handling of the G20 protests. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said yesterday that the party was calling for a full inquiry into policing of the protests, especially the tactics of the controversial riot policing unit, the Territorial Support Group (TSG). "It may be necessary to look more widely at the TSG and see whether it's appropriate for it to be so separate," he said. "There's a clear problem of discipline in this part of the Met which the commissioner needs to address urgently.

"It's very worrying that there have been repeated instances with officers not wearing identifying numerals. This is exactly the problem we had many years ago with the Special Patrol Group, which was exactly why it was disbanded."

Protesters warned that this year's May Day actions could be some of the most dramatic yet. The United Campaign Against Police Violence, a coalition of protest groups, formed in the wake of the G20 protests, met yesterday to discuss action. Chris Knight, a founding member, said: "We may feel the need to kettle a police station. We'd surround them completely and not let them in and out for 12 hours. We're trying to stop London on May Day in memory of all who died in police custody. If police officers haven't got the message at that stage, we may have to take it into our own hands."

Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition said: "I wouldn't be surprised if there were more people this year. People are disgusted over the policing of G20, and I think there's growing anger at the way the police are behaving in general." Tony Benn, who will be speaking at the May Day rally in Trafalgar Square, said: "I dare say it will be bigger this year because of everything that's happened."

Hundreds of demonstrators, including some dressed as the horsemen of the apocalypse, gathered outside the City of London police headquarters yesterday morning in protest at the police tactics used on 1 and 2 April.

Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said that a root-and-branch review of policing is needed. "Things have come together at a particular moment and out of tragedy sometimes comes opportunity. We have got to make sure Mr Tomlinson did not die in vain. We're talking about a much broader culture of how the police deal with protests. There have been problems for some time but the G20 has highlighted it all."

Daily Express : MI5’S Grannies Fight al Qaeda

MI5’S GRANNIES FIGHT AL QAEDA

MI5 feared a shopping area in Manchester was a prime target

By Gordon Thomas | April 19, 2009

MI5 used some astonishing new weapons in its action against suspected terrorists in the north of England last week.

Playing a leading role were teams of women who kept an eye on the suspects during the long investigation into what is believed to be the biggest campaign plotted by Al Qaeda since the London bombings.

Created by the Security Service’s A4 surveillance division, the teams were tested for the first time in the operation, code-named Pathway, which was directed by MI5’s 50-year-old head Jonathan Evans.

They worked in two groups: one, made up of 72 elderly women, the other, young mothers with babies in prams.

Both had undergone a crash course in surveillance techniques.

Some of the elderly women walked the streets of the northern cities where the suspects lived, ostensibly walking their dogs or going shopping.

But miniature recorders hidden in their hair or beneath a headscarf were monitored by surveillance vans nearby.

These were linked directly to another unit specialising in locating a suspect’s mobile phone by triangulating its signal between two or more transmission masts.

The recorders used by the “granny squad” were also linked to GCHQ, the Government eaves-dropping centre in Cheltenham, Gloucs.

The mothers’ prams were also wired for surveillance. Beneath the real babies was a range of recording equipment that turned the prams into self-contained mobile surveillance units.

A further development by the MI5 scientists was also used. This is a colourless chemical that can be “painted” on a suspect’s clothing.

Another MI5 team, known as ­BS-1, the Burglar Specialists, break into a suspect’s home and spray the long-lasting chemical on to a shoe, skirt, jacket or trousers, which can then be detected by specially trained dogs.

It was these dogs who pursued the 12 Pakistani students now in custody, as they photographed the smart shopping area in Manchester, which MI5 feared was to be a prime target.

It was the grannies who picked up crucial details of ­e-mails exchanged by suspects.

During the long operation, which culminated in MI5’s swoop last week, they filed regular reports to a committee of senior MI5 officials based in a sound-proof room in the Security Service’s headquarters in Thames House, London.

It was one of the young mothers pushing her baby through a Manchester street who picked up details of a possible attack over the Easter holidays.

Analysts who studied her tape noticed a reference to the arrest in December last year of suspected Al Qaeda terrorists in Brussels, who were said to be plotting to launch an attack against a two-day summit in the city.

That assault was never launched, however. One possible reason was that it had been replaced by the Manchester plot.

This had all the hallmarks of Rashid Rauf, one of Osama Bin Laden’s top terrorist plotters. He was the mastermind behind the London bombings in July 2005.

Last November, he was reportedly killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a pilotless Predator drone by the CIA on the Pakistan-Afghan border.

A shroud-covered body was removed from the rubble. It was purported to be Rauf, but that is now thought unlikely.

The young mother pushing her pram in Manchester had picked up a snatch of conversation that led GCHQ to believe that Rauf was still alive, probably in Pakistan.

He would almost certainly have pulled off the latest attack except for the undercover operation ­inadvertently exposed by Bob Quick, the Metropolitan police chief who was Britain’s senior anti-terrorist officer. The blunder cost Quick his job.

It may also have enabled details of Rauf’s plan to escape detection. MI5 boss Evans has told his officers that if Rauf is still alive: “The further we are from his last crime, the closer we are to the next.”

The News : British lawyer contacts arrested student’s family

British lawyer contacts arrested student’s family

April 19, 2009

PESHAWAR: A British lawyer for Abid Naseer, one of the 10 Pakistani students arrested by the authorities in England on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist plot, contacted his family in Pakistan and informed his father about the well being of his son.

Nasrullah Jan Khattak, father of Abid Naseer, told The News on Saturday that British lawyer named Aden had twice phoned him from England on Thursday and Friday. “He told me that he had met my son Abid Naseer who is in police custody. He said Abid Naseer was well,” Khattak added. He said his family was still unsure about Abid Naseer’s fate.

According to Khattak, the family members of the other Pakistani students arrested in northwest England were also coming forward after hearing about the arrests. He reiterated that his son was innocent and had been wrongly implicated in the case.

Guardian : The doctors in the Ian Tomlinson case: a tale of two pathologists

The doctors in the Ian Tomlinson case: a tale of two pathologists

Audrey Gillan | April 18, 2009

Dr Nathaniel Cary

Cary, who performed the second postmortem and concluded that Ian Tomlinson died of abdominal haemorrhage, is one of the country's top pathologists. He has garnered fame for conducting follow-up autopsies that show inadequacies in tests originally carried out by others in his profession.

He questioned the findings that the Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer had been murdered in his hotel room in Jamaica, concluding this was wrong. After carrying out a second autopsy he ruled that Woolmer had died of heart failure.

Cary was also employed to investigate the death of Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi after it was claimed she had been killed by a bullet wound. Cary wrote that the rapidly fatal head injury was sustained because of the bomb blast. And he was employed by the family of Harold Shipman to carry out his own inquiry into the death of the former GP turned serial killer who was found hanged in his cell. Cary said Shipman's death "could have been murder".

Dr Freddy Patel

Patel, who conducted the first postmortem and concluded that Ian Tomlinson had died of a heart attack, was once reprimanded about his professional conduct by the General Medical Council after he released medical details about Roger Sylvester, a 30-year-old black man who died in police custody.

He told reporters: "I am aware from the medical records ... that Mr Sylvester was a user of crack cocaine." Sylvester's family were devastated by the suggestion and contested that he been a user.

In a second case, which raised questions about Dr Patel's findings, police dropped a criminal investigation after the pathologist gave it as his opinion that the victim, Sally White, had died of natural causes. Anthony Hardy, a psychiatrically-disturbed alcoholic, who lived in the flat where the body was found, went on to murder two other women and mutilate their bodies.

Guardian : Ian Tomlinson's death at G20: how events have unfolded

Ian Tomlinson's death at G20: how events have unfolded

Duncan Campbell | April 18, 2009

In the 10 days since the Guardian revealed footage of Ian Tomlinson being attacked from behind by a police officer during the G20 demonstration, there have been a number of significant developments:

• The Independent Police Complaints Commission decided to take over the inquiry into the death, after initially accepting that Tomlinson had died of a heart attack unconnected with events at the protest.

• The Metropolitan police has invited Denis O'Connor, her majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, to conduct an inquiry into the tactics used on the demonstration and in general. O'Connor is one of the most experienced officers in Britain, having been a chief constable of Surrey and assistant commissioner

• The Liberal Democrats have called for a full inquiry into all the events on the day and specifically those surrounding Tomlinson's death.

• The Metropolitan Police Authority is to hold a private meeting next Thursday at which senior officers are to be questioned about the policing of the protest and police tactics at demonstrations in general.

• A second post-mortem examination, held at the request of the Tomlinson family, concluded Tomlinson died of an abdominal haemorrhage. This contradicts the original post-mortem, which suggested he had died of a heart attack.

• The officer suspended in connection with what happened to Tomlinson has been interviewed under caution for the offence of manslaughter.

Dawn : Student arrested in UK seeks consular service

Student arrested in UK seeks consular service

By M. Ziauddin | April 18, 2009

LONDON, April 17: One of the Pakistani students arrested in last week’s anti-terrorism raids, Janas Khan, has sought Pakistan High Commission’s consular service.

Meanwhile, the high commission has also obtained the names of four solicitors who are representing seven of the arrested students who have refused the offer of consular services. The commission is trying to contact the students through their solicitors.

Sources in the high commission said that the remaining two Pakistani students had refused consular services and have also requested authorities not to involve their families in the matter.All 12 persons were arrested on April 8 on suspicion of being involved in hatching plots to stage terrorist acts in the UK.

One, whose identity is yet to be established but believed to be a Bangladeshi, was released on the very second day, and of the remaining 11 still in custody, one is said to be Afghan national.

The UK authorities have so far not shared with Pakistani authorities even preliminary information about the students like their names, home addresses and the names of the institutions where these students were studying and the subjects they were studying; when they arrived in the UK and when do their visas expire.

Ignoring Pakistan’s request to either put those arrested on trial, or to allow them to remain in the country to continue their studies, the UK authorities are said to have decided to let the police continue their investigation.

There has also been talk of deporting some of the arrested students against whom actionable evidence is not likely to be found.

Under the law, police could keep the suspects in custody for 28 days. So, police has 18 days more to marshal the required evidence to charge them.

Sighatullah Kadri, QC, a British lawyer of Pakistani origin, answered in the affirmative when asked if the UK authorities could deport the students even if the charges under which they were arrested were not found valid.

He said perhaps the police had arrested these students only on the basis of taped ‘incriminating’ conversation, but since taped conversation is not admissible in the court of law and also the MI5 itself would not like to use this evidence in the court fearing exposing its methods of investigations, the police is finding itself in a fix. “They do not want to let the suspects go scot-free because of what evidence they have but they cannot also keep them under detention beyond 28 days without coming up with actionable evidence.”

Daily Mail : Police given extra seven days to question terror plot suspects

Police given extra seven days to question terror plot suspects

By Daily Mail Reporter | April 16, 2009

Police were today given more time to question 11 men held for an alleged terror plot.

A total of 12 men were arrested on April 8 after officers raided 14 addresses in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire.

An 18-year-old man was released without charge last week into the custody of the UK Borders Agency, which regulates immigration and can investigate the status of those entering the country.

The North West Counter Terrorism Unit has been given a further seven days to question seven of the men, aged between 22 and 37, and two further days to question the other four arrested men, aged 23, 41 and two aged 26.

They are being held in various locations across the country.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police, who are leading the operation, said the extensions were granted at magistrates' courts.
police

Police officers patrol the area around a house in Liverpool following arrests and raids in Liverpool, Manchester and Clitheroep

The spokesman said: 'Officers continue to thank the local communities affected by this operation for their co-operation and support.'

Six addresses are still being searched by police across Merseyside and Greater Manchester including one in Galsworthy Avenue, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, and two in Cedar Grove, Liverpool, the spokesman added.

BBC : More time for anti-terror police

More time for anti-terror police

April 17, 2009

Police have been granted extra time to question four men arrested as part of a counter-terrorism operation in north-west England last week.

The four, aged 23, 26, 26 and 41, can now be questioned for five more days.

They are among 12 men arrested during the raids in Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire on 8 April.

On Wednesday officers were also given a further seven days to question seven other men. An 18-year-old has been handed over to the UK Border Agency.

The raid searched 14 properties across the north-west of England in connection with an alleged planned bomb attack.

Secret document

Police found pictures of popular Manchester shopping centres and a nightclub during searches, the BBC learned.

Eleven of the men arrested are Pakistani, ten of whom were in the UK on student visas.

The raid was brought forward after the UK's most senior counter-terrorism police officer - who has since resigned - sparked a security alert by revealing a secret document to photographers when he arrived for a briefing at No 10 Downing Street.

The revelations regarding the nationality of the suspects have stoked concerns that the authorities have lost the ability to control the UK's border security.

Home Office figures for between April 2004 and April 2008 - the last year for which figures are available - show that about 42,000 Pakistani nationals entered the UK on student visas.

Ministers have rejected claims that border controls are too lax.

The First Post : London police tell Austrian tourists to delete photos

London police tell Austrian tourists to delete photos

An Austrian photographer interested in public transport is told by Metropolitan police to delete pictures of buses, trains and stations

By Danielle Dsane | April 17, 2009

I've never had these experiences anywhere, never in the world, not even in Communist countries." This was what Klaus Matzka, a 69-year-old Austrian tourist, had to say of his experiences with the police on a recent visit to London. Matzka had come to England with his teenage son, but came to grief on an excursion to Walthamstow.

The north-eastern suburb is not an obvious place for a tourist, but he had his justification: "We typically crisscross cities from the end of railway terminals, we like to go to places not visited by other tourists. You get to know a city by going to places like this, not central squares. Buckingham Palace is also necessary, but you need to go elsewhere to get to know the city," Matzka told the Guardian.

But while in Walthamstow, Matzka, a retired cameraman who has an interest in modern architecture, was forced by two policemen to delete every photo with anything to do with transport. This included pictures of Vauxhall underground station, and of London's trademark red buses.

The two policemen also took down the details of the hotel where he and his son were staying, and their passport numbers. Now back in Vienna, Matzka said that this "nasty incident" had "killed interest in any further trips to the city".

"Google Street View is allowed to show any details of our cities on the world wide web. But a father and his son are not allowed to take pictures of famous London landmarks," he complained.

This is not the only recent incident in which the police have used their powers to act against people taking photographs in public spaces.

When Bob Quick paraded his top-secret document in front of Downing Street paparazzi, the police made twelve hurried arrests, 10 of whom were Pakistanis who'd come to England on student visas, over an alleged al-Qaeda terrorist plot.

The police, who have yet to release any evidence of bomb factories, pointed to photos the suspects had been taking of "crowded places" such as the Birdcage, a Manchester nightclub, and the Trafford Shopping Centre, as reasons for acting quickly to detain the men.