Aircraft go nowhere at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal Five yesterday as massive delays hit flights all over the country in the wake of the anti-terror operation.
Airline terrorists were days away from massacre at 30,000 feet
Airports across the UK on alert as terror strike looks to have been foiled
Nine aircraft may have been targeted for destruction
Twenty-four arrested in raids, including recent convert to Islam
Key quote "We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and commit mass murder," he said. Put simply, this was a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale." - Stephenson, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
Story in full BRITAIN was only days away from "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" when police stopped terrorists blowing up nine transatlantic passenger planes in an atrocity that would have surpassed 9/11
As an unprecedented security operation brought massive disruption to the UK's airports, security sources revealed thousands of people would have been killed if the audacious plot involving liquid explosives had succeeded.
Twenty-four people, most of them believed to be British-born, were in custody last night after overnight raids in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe.
Most of those arrested were said to be of Pakistani descent. It was reported that they ranged in age from 17-35.
However, it was also revealed last night that one suspect was a teenager who recently converted to Islam.
Don Stewart-Whyte, 19, recently changed his name to Abdul Wahid to reflect his new-found religion.
Neighbours described him as "pleasant and polite".
A mother aged in early 20s was also taken into custody.
Sources told The Scotsman British intelligence first became aware a group of British Muslims was planning an attack last year when the service received information from Pakistani authorities following the arrest of senior al-Qaeda figures.
The men were put under surveillance and senior figures in government, including Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, were made aware of the situation.
The decision to arrest the group came as they were apparently just two days away from a "dry run", to see if they would be able to smuggle the needed materials aboard the planes.
There were reports last night that five more suspects were still being urgently sought in the UK, but police said they were "confident" the key people had been arrested.
British authorities have been sharing full details of the operation with their US counterparts, who last night started to disclose more details.
The ABC television network named three of those arrested as Rashid Rauf, Mohammed al-Ghandra and Ahmed al Khan. The three were the ringleaders of the plot, the network said.
One version of the planned attacks suggests that an explosive gel was to have been concealed inside a sports drink container. The electric pulse required to detonate the peroxide-based substance was to have been provided from the flash unit of a disposable camera.
Government officials in Pakistan said several arrests were made there in co-ordination with those in the UK.
One senior government official said "two or three local people" were arrested a few days ago in Lahore and Karachi.
As the operation was under way, Britain's security threat level was raised to "critical" for the first time.
Airports rushed in new security measures, stopping people taking hand baggage on to aircraft, scanning passengers' shoes and searching US-bound travellers twice.
More than 1,000 flights in and out of Britain were cancelled, including at least 80 at Scottish airports and more than 600 at Heathrow. Hundreds more were delayed and there were chaotic scenes at many airports.
Some passengers learned of the ban on hand luggage only as they arrived and had to hurriedly repack. Just a few items were allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.
For the most part, passengers said they accepted the delays were necessary, even if it later emerged there had been some kind of false alarm.
However, Paul Stephenson, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said the force was convinced the danger had been all too real. "We are confident we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and commit mass murder," he said.
"Put simply, this was a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale."
John Reid, the Home Secretary, said if the plot had been carried out, the loss of life would have been on "an unprecedented scale". He went on: "The police, working with the Security Service, MI5, have carried out a major counter-terror operation overnight to disrupt an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions.
"While the police are confident the main players have been accounted for, neither they or the government are in any way complacent. This is an ongoing and complex operation."
Officials in the US said flights by American, United and Continental Airlines to five cities - New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles as well as possibly Boston and Chicago - were to have been targeted by the plotters.
It is believed they intended to blow up the planes in waves of three at a time over cities in the US and Britain.
Explosives experts said it was possible to use certain liquids to create an explosion without a detonator, but there were also claims that the alleged terrorists had planned to use an electronic detonator disguised as a mobile phone or an MP3 music player. They said it was likely a skilled bomber would have taken the constituent parts of the bomb to the toilet for assembly shortly before detonating the device.
Michael Chertoff, the US homeland security secretary, said the plot had been stopped just in time.
"This is not a circumstance where you have a handful of people sitting around, coming up with dreamy ideas about terrorist plots," he said. "The conception, the large number of people involved, the sophisticated design of the devices that were being considered and the sophisticated nature of the plan, all suggest that this group that came together to conspire was very determined, very skilled, and very capable."
Speaking from the Caribbean, where he is on holiday, Mr Blair said: "I would like to pay tribute to the immense effort made by the police and security services, who, for a long time, have tracked this situation and been involved in an extraordinary amount of hard work. I thank them for the great job they are doing in protecting our country."
The Prime Minister is believed to have been aware of the security threat for some time but not to have anticipated yesterday's events before leaving the country on Tuesday.
Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said Mr Blair and George Bush, the US president, had held a lengthy tele-conference on Sunday and spoke again by phone on Wednesday, when the security services decided to arrest all the suspects. "There were some signs. They thought it was time to move," Mr Snow said of the British authorities.
Mr Bush thanked the British government for "busting this plot". He said: "This nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom."
Professor Paul Wilkinson, of St Andrews University, an expert on terrorism, said police were working on the theory that nine planes were to have been targeted by the bombers.
"That's a very serious threat - we're talking about hundreds of people at risk," he said.
"The police and security services have done a very good job to thwart it, although they are being careful and saying they are not sure they have got everybody involved in this."
British officials have not confirmed that al-Qaeda was behind the plot but experts said it bore all the hallmarks of the group, or one of its affiliates.
Countdown to a day of drama as carnage in sky is averted
2005: Pakistani intelligence officials pass information from captured militants to MI5 suggesting that an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist plot is being formulated in Britain.
Summer-autumn: MI5 officials begin background investigations on the British men believed to be at the heart of the conspiracy.
2006: The surveillance operation makes a crucial breakthrough earlier this year, giving intelligence analysts reason to conclude that the men are planning to explode bombs on board planes bound for the United States.
SUNDAY: Tony Blair first discusses the plot with George Bush, the US president.
WEDNESDAY: The leaders speak again about the plot.
10:30pm: Raids begin at addresses across Britain in a bid to foil the attacks. Among the first to be raided is a flat in Forest Road, Walthamstow, east London.
Midnight: John Reid, the Home Secretary, chairs a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, COBRA. John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, is not present. A house in Mickefield Road, High Wycombe is raided.
YESTERDAY, 3am: West Midlands Police raid an address in St Mary's Road, Alum Rock, Birmingham, and make two arrests.
5am: Mr Reid chairs a second meeting of COBRA. Mr Prescott is absent again. Revised security procedures are introduced by the Department for Transport and circulated to airports.
6am: Airlines announce new measures to passengers and warn of delays.
7:58am: Heathrow Airport operator BAA asks National Air Traffic Services to suspend all inbound services not already in the air as aircraft and passengers build up. The hold is in force until noon.
9:40am: Airport authorities and air traffic controllers extend the ban on inbound flights to 4pm, then later to 7pm.
12:30pm: British Airways cancels all of its short-haul flights to and from Heathrow for the rest of the day.
3:21pm: Heathrow re-opens for all arrivals earlier than expected.
4pm: Mr Reid chairs another meeting of COBRA, with Mr Prescott in attendance.
5pm: Thames Valley Police raid a bungalow in Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, almost opposite the scene of Wednesday night's raid.
Airport misery with delays set to continue
PASSENGERS have been warned of further flight delays with no end in sight to the worst disruption to hit UK air travel since the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001.
Chaos reigned across many airports as hundreds of thousands of travellers suffered huge delays, and stringent new hand luggage restrictions were imposed.
At Gatwick, airport staff resorted to standing on tables to shout information to passengers, while elsewhere photocopied notices were hastily taped to walls.
Worst affected were passengers using Heathrow and Gatwick, where British Airways cancelled nearly half of its 820 daily flights, including many to and from Scotland. BA expect disruption to continue for two more days and will only operate 60 per cent of UK flights at Heathrow today, but 80 per cent at Gatwick.
At least 80 flights were cancelled at Scotland's airports - up to one in 12 - while others were delayed by up to five hours. Cancellations included 30 at Edinburgh, 25 at Glasgow and 18 at Aberdeen.
EasyJet, which cancelled 300 flights yesterday, has scrapped all its London flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness today.
The airline information company OAG estimated that about 400,000 people in the UK were affected.
In Edinburgh, check-in queues snaked through the terminal and spilled outside, but the mood was one of frustration rather than fear.
Prague-bound Lucie Bakesova, said: "I can't get any information out here. I know there's a terror alert, but why is my flight delayed?"
Bill Gleeson, of Edinburgh, said the restrictions would hit business travellers hard. He said: "I am currently switching my travel to the train wherever possible and a lot of business travellers will do the same."
Virgin Trains said it had been "exceptionally busy", and GNER trains from London were "very busy".
At Glasgow airport, there was an atmosphere of calm, despite the police presence. Officers with machine guns patrolled as sniffer dogs wove in and out of the luggage.
Max Adamson, 16, from Utah, who was returning from a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe, said: "I am really worried about the threat of terrorists. Two of my relatives died in 9/11 and this brings back terrible memories. I loved Scotland, but it is sad to leave on this note."
At Aberdeen airport, Murray Walker, the veteran Formula 1 racing commentator, was among passengers whose flights were disrupted. He said: "If you are responsible for the lives of thousands of citizens and something happens because you took a chance, that would be inexcusable. It is better to be inconvenienced than killed."
Polly Byrne, from Edinburgh, who flew to Stansted with her husband and two young daughters only to find their connection to Valencia had been cancelled, said: "The pilot was giving us updates throughout the flight. There was quite a good feeling of solidarity."
Prestwick suffered just three cancellations and Inverness four.
The Department for Transport said the restrictions would be for a "limited time".
• An anti-war protest held outside Prestwick airport last night was condemned for tying up police resources.
Around 40 demonstrators gathered at the Ayrshire site, but an airport spokesman said: "We consider this completely inappropriate given the challenges that travellers and their concerned families and friends have had to endure today."
Related topic
Terrorism in the UK
This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1165992006
Last updated: 10-Aug-06 00:12 BST
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