Vanhalen 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2004 God, I love my country, it seems we take the most sarcastic, cynical laid back view to anything, it seems this copper was transporting some anti-terror plans, got pissed at the pub, and left these security papers in a lay-by, only in england The home secretary has said the disappearance of papers reported to contain counter-terrorism plans for Heathrow Airport was "very bad". A report in the Sun newspaper claimed the documents identified 62 sites from which a missile strike could be made. They were found by a motorist in a layby near the London airport who contacted its reporters, the Sun said. The plans have been returned to the Metropolitan Police which has launched an internal inquiry. The files were dated 26 June 2004 and included details about escape routes, evacuation plans and road closures, according to the newspaper's Monday edition. Confidential details of police measures such as patrol times, use of dog units and deployment of rooftop snipers were also set out, it said. Home Secretary David Blunkett told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "As far as I know this is a genuine document." He added: "The plans were obviously very good. Somebody disposing of them in a way that allowed that to happen is very bad. "The Commissioner [of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens] will be reporting on the investigation as to how that happened." 'Community concerned' A Scotland Yard spokeswoman could not confirm reports the dossier was compiled by the SO18 Aviation Security team, which is based at Heathrow police station. She said: "We treat any breach of security extremely seriously. "We have launched an internal inquiry into the circumstances of how these documents went missing and will take the appropriate action when we have ascertained the facts surrounding the matter." She said she could not discuss the contents of the papers nor where they were found "for security reasons". John Stewart, chairman of Hacan Clear Skies, a pressure group for people living under the Heathrow flight path, said there was concern in the local community over a possible attack. "Heathrow is in the most built-up area of any airport in Europe," he said. "If there's a terrorist attack that was successful, it wouldn't only take out planes, it would take out hundreds or thousands of homes. Maybe tens of thousands of people would be made homeless and worse." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted July 20, 2004 British question: A layby is a __? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garth 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2004 Its where you can pull over and stop on roads more or less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2004 So...rest area? Or is it just a space on the side of the road? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garth 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2004 Just a space, can sometimes be say a burger van or something there during the day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted July 20, 2004 A burger van? neat. I need to visit England. Would you like a side of counterterrorism documents with that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
