June 29th, 2007, 19:42
What appears to have been a failed massive car-bomb terrorist attack outside a packed London nightclub was discovered by a fire crew summoned to investigate smoke coming from the vehicle.
Perhaps related to the recent news that Al Queda suicide terrorists have been dispatched worldwide it was possibly "a welcome" for the new British PM.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 808.ece... (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2003808.ece...).
London car bomb 'packed with nails and gas'
London escaped what could have been its worst terrorist attack this morning when a car bomb packed with nails, gas canisters and containers of petrol apparently failed to detonate outside a popular West End nightclub hosting a 'ladies' night'.
Police were called to Tiger Tiger nightclub in the West End shortly before 2am when smoke was seen coming from the inside of a Mercedes car parked outside. A man was seen running from the vehicle.
Inside officers discovered a "significant quantity" of petrol, nails and gas cylinders. They used a remote-controlled device to check the vehicle before bomb squad officers made it safe.
If the bomb had exploded, police said that the shrapnel would have killed or injured anyone within a wide area. The bomb itself could have caused a fireball as big as a house followed by a large shock wave.
Authorities were called to the area when an ambulance crew saw smoke coming from the car.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, said: "It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been significant injury or loss of life.
"What the ambulance people saw was what they thought was smoke." He said the investigation would discover if it was smoke or something else.
Whitehall sources said that the police and security services are looking at possible international links - including similarities to car bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.
"It is entirely possible. There are various things - it is outside a nightclub, it is a vehicle-borne device, it is close to the anniversary of the July 7 attacks," one source said. "But we are keeping an open mind."
Officers were contacted at 2am after the pale green Mercedes drove into a number of bins outside Tiger Tiger on Haymarket. Witnesses said that the driver of the vehicle jumped out of the car and ran away.
Terry Neil, managing director of TSS, the firm which provides doormen for the club, said that his bouncers had called the police before promptly evacuating the premises.
"We work very closely with Operation Griffin, the anti-terrorism thing, and the boys have been briefed as to what they should do. They did what they were trained to do," he said. "If it wasn’t for their awareness, it could have been sat there outside a club with 1,000 people in it. It’s a very busy road."
Mr Neil added that the club's cameras are "absolutely everwhere" around the club. "If you look at where it is, the camera should pick him up getting out of the car. It shouldn’t be long before they start putting out images."
The incident came on Gordon Brown's second full day in 10 Downing Street, marking his first real test as Prime Minister. Mr Brown was due to host a Cabinet meeting today and said that he would remind his ministers that "vigilance must be maintained".
As investigations at Haymarket continued, with the area almost completely closed off, there was a second alert close to London Bridge Station, where a street was temporarily closed to traffic while a suspicious car was examined.
A massive manhunt began for the driver of the Haymarket vehicle, wiith police trawling through CCTV footage from the club and nearby streets. Congestion charge cameras situated throughout central London are also capable of tracking where the car came from, and which routes it took.
Terror groups like al-Qaeda are believed to have been planning attacks on nightclubs, which are considered by Islamic fundamentalists to be symbols of Western decadence.
Earlier this year, a number of Islamist extremist terrorists were imprisoned for planning a number of major terror attacks, including a bomb attack on London's Ministry of Sound nightclub.
Tiger Tiger is a combined bar, restaurant and nightclub, part of a wider national chain, that opens from midday until the early hours of the morning. It has several floors, and is believed to have a capacity of over 1,000 - although staff said that only around 650 were in the club at the time of the incident. Last night was scheduled to be 'ladies' night' at the club, complete with female DJ.
Yesterday, the jury went out in the trial of six men accused of taking part in an extremist plot to carry out a series of suicide bombings on London's transport system on July 21, 2005 - two weeks after 52 commuters were killed in the UK's first suicide bomb attacks on 7/7.
Police this morning cordoned off a number of entrances and exits to Piccadilly Circus Tube station, which was then closed for safety reasons by Transport for London. The station is set to remain closed for much of the morning, along with roads all around the area.
In addition to their Haymarket investigation, police were thought to be conducting a huge operation around other London landmarks - including Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament - to search for other potential devices.
Today's Cabinet meeting was to be briefed by Jacqui Smith, the new Home Secretary, who was first chairing a session of Cobra, the Government's emergency civil contingencies committee.
This morning Mr Brown said: "The first duty of the Government is the security of the people and as the police and security services have said on so many occasions we face a serious and continuous threat to our country.
"We should allow the police to investigate this incident and then report to us. But this incident does recall the need for us to be vigilant at all times and the public to be alert at any potential incidents.
"I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days".
Perhaps related to the recent news that Al Queda suicide terrorists have been dispatched worldwide it was possibly "a welcome" for the new British PM.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 808.ece... (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2003808.ece...).
London car bomb 'packed with nails and gas'
London escaped what could have been its worst terrorist attack this morning when a car bomb packed with nails, gas canisters and containers of petrol apparently failed to detonate outside a popular West End nightclub hosting a 'ladies' night'.
Police were called to Tiger Tiger nightclub in the West End shortly before 2am when smoke was seen coming from the inside of a Mercedes car parked outside. A man was seen running from the vehicle.
Inside officers discovered a "significant quantity" of petrol, nails and gas cylinders. They used a remote-controlled device to check the vehicle before bomb squad officers made it safe.
If the bomb had exploded, police said that the shrapnel would have killed or injured anyone within a wide area. The bomb itself could have caused a fireball as big as a house followed by a large shock wave.
Authorities were called to the area when an ambulance crew saw smoke coming from the car.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, said: "It is obvious that if the device had detonated there could have been significant injury or loss of life.
"What the ambulance people saw was what they thought was smoke." He said the investigation would discover if it was smoke or something else.
Whitehall sources said that the police and security services are looking at possible international links - including similarities to car bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.
"It is entirely possible. There are various things - it is outside a nightclub, it is a vehicle-borne device, it is close to the anniversary of the July 7 attacks," one source said. "But we are keeping an open mind."
Officers were contacted at 2am after the pale green Mercedes drove into a number of bins outside Tiger Tiger on Haymarket. Witnesses said that the driver of the vehicle jumped out of the car and ran away.
Terry Neil, managing director of TSS, the firm which provides doormen for the club, said that his bouncers had called the police before promptly evacuating the premises.
"We work very closely with Operation Griffin, the anti-terrorism thing, and the boys have been briefed as to what they should do. They did what they were trained to do," he said. "If it wasn’t for their awareness, it could have been sat there outside a club with 1,000 people in it. It’s a very busy road."
Mr Neil added that the club's cameras are "absolutely everwhere" around the club. "If you look at where it is, the camera should pick him up getting out of the car. It shouldn’t be long before they start putting out images."
The incident came on Gordon Brown's second full day in 10 Downing Street, marking his first real test as Prime Minister. Mr Brown was due to host a Cabinet meeting today and said that he would remind his ministers that "vigilance must be maintained".
As investigations at Haymarket continued, with the area almost completely closed off, there was a second alert close to London Bridge Station, where a street was temporarily closed to traffic while a suspicious car was examined.
A massive manhunt began for the driver of the Haymarket vehicle, wiith police trawling through CCTV footage from the club and nearby streets. Congestion charge cameras situated throughout central London are also capable of tracking where the car came from, and which routes it took.
Terror groups like al-Qaeda are believed to have been planning attacks on nightclubs, which are considered by Islamic fundamentalists to be symbols of Western decadence.
Earlier this year, a number of Islamist extremist terrorists were imprisoned for planning a number of major terror attacks, including a bomb attack on London's Ministry of Sound nightclub.
Tiger Tiger is a combined bar, restaurant and nightclub, part of a wider national chain, that opens from midday until the early hours of the morning. It has several floors, and is believed to have a capacity of over 1,000 - although staff said that only around 650 were in the club at the time of the incident. Last night was scheduled to be 'ladies' night' at the club, complete with female DJ.
Yesterday, the jury went out in the trial of six men accused of taking part in an extremist plot to carry out a series of suicide bombings on London's transport system on July 21, 2005 - two weeks after 52 commuters were killed in the UK's first suicide bomb attacks on 7/7.
Police this morning cordoned off a number of entrances and exits to Piccadilly Circus Tube station, which was then closed for safety reasons by Transport for London. The station is set to remain closed for much of the morning, along with roads all around the area.
In addition to their Haymarket investigation, police were thought to be conducting a huge operation around other London landmarks - including Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament - to search for other potential devices.
Today's Cabinet meeting was to be briefed by Jacqui Smith, the new Home Secretary, who was first chairing a session of Cobra, the Government's emergency civil contingencies committee.
This morning Mr Brown said: "The first duty of the Government is the security of the people and as the police and security services have said on so many occasions we face a serious and continuous threat to our country.
"We should allow the police to investigate this incident and then report to us. But this incident does recall the need for us to be vigilant at all times and the public to be alert at any potential incidents.
"I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days".