British policeman killed in terror raid

[Guest Tim]

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - A British policeman was stabbed to death and four others were injured in an anti-terror raid which police said was linked to last week's discovery of a chemical weapons agent in London.

 

Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) said the first killing of a British police officer in an anti-terrorist operation since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 was "an appalling tragedy and wicked in the extreme."

 

Unarmed officers swooped on an address in the northern English city of Manchester on Tuesday to detain a man under anti-terrorism laws but found two other men in their 20s there, Manchester's assistant chief police constable Alan Green said.

 

At least one of the suspects attacked the officers, apparently with a large kitchen knife, Green said.

 

Detective Constable Stephen Oake, a 40-year-old father of three, died of stab wounds in hospital.

 

Green said the raid was linked to the discovery of the deadly poison ricin in a north London apartment last week, but there was no sign of any toxins at the Manchester address.

 

All three suspects, believed to be of North African origin, were being held in custody, Green said. A murder investigation was launched.

 

Scotland Yard police later said one of the suspects was being taken to London to be questioned by the anti-terror squad.

 

Manchester's chief constable Michael Todd told reporters the officers had been in the flat for about an hour before one of the suspects broke free, grabbed a knife and attacked the officers.

 

Unlike their American counterparts, British policemen are rarely armed with guns.

 

 

"WICKED IN THE EXTREME"

 

Blair said in his statement he "was shocked and very saddened to learn of the death of this brave police officer.

 

"His death and the injuries to the other officers involved in this incident underline the dangers our police and security forces face in these times."

 

The discovery of a small quantity of ricin, one of the deadliest plant toxins on earth, in a London apartment has ratcheted up fears of a terrorist attack in Britain.

 

Four North Africans were charged last week with chemical weapons and terrorism offences after the discovery. All were recent immigrants or asylum seekers.

 

Tuesday's killing raised immediate calls from the opposition for tougher border controls to combat terror.

 

Oliver Letwin, law and order (news - Y! TV) spokesman for the opposition Conservative Party, said the arrests were a sign that militant cells were able to thwart Britain's lax immigration controls.

 

"There is chaos in immigration services at the moment, and part of that appears to be a lack of vetting," he said.