UK terror alert stays critical

UK terror alert stays critical

DELAYS: Passengers at Edinburgh Airport face further disruption today.

NICK HODGSON BRITAIN remained on the highest level of terror alert today as 19 suspects arrested over the alleged plot to blow up passenger jets had their bank accounts frozen. Home Secretary John Reid said the official threat level would stay at "critical" - a signal that an attack could be imminent - as a precautionary measure.

It came as air passengers faced further delays and cancellations today as extra searches and a ban on hand luggage remained in force. Around 20 flights were cancelled at Edinburgh Airport, but airport chiefs said delays were down to around an hour and things were returning to normal. Police believe that they have accounted for the main players in the alleged plot to cause what one senior police chief has described as "mass murder on an unimaginable scale". But the Home Secretary appealed for vigilance to prevent an attack getting through. He said it was important for people to show "tolerance" and "resilience" and that was "in the nature of the British people". Earlier, the Bank of England named 19 of the 24 suspects arrested over the alleged plot and said their assets would be frozen. The bank said it was acting on the orders of Chancellor Gordon Brown following advice from police and the security services. It also emerged today that two Britons arrested in Pakistan last week may have given vital information about the alleged bomb plot. Both suspects were of Pakistani origin, with one arrested in the eastern city of Lahore and the second picked up in Karachi. Five Pakistanis were arrested at the same time. There were reports in the United States that five more suspects were still at large amid fears the terrorists could have a "plan B". But British sources have played down concerns that more bombers could be on the loose. Mr Reid told today's news conference: "We think that the main suspects are in custody, but we always err on the side of caution. "We can never be certain and we want to be sure that alongside the operational interventions we made we maintain a very high level of vigilance and the necessary restrictions on the aviation sector. "Neither the police nor Government are in any way complacent." Mr Reid said he was "grateful" for the help of the international community, particularly Pakistan. Meanwhile, details began to emerge of the suspects held during raids in London, Birmingham and High Wycombe on Wednesday night. At least three were converts to Islam and several came from comfortable middle-class backgrounds. One is 17 and another is reportedly a young mother who has been allowed to keep her baby in custody with her. It is thought that the suspects were planning to blow up several planes by using liquid explosives carried in soft-drink bottles, and detonators disguised as electronic equipment. It was reported that the attack was aimed at blowing up as many as ten planes on transatlantic flights, and plotters hoped to stage a dry run within two days. The actual attack would have followed within days. One official said the suicide attackers planned to use a peroxide-based solution that could ignite when sparked by a camera flash. The Bank of England acted under powers granted by the United Nations to tackle the financing of terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the US. The action means it is a crime to make the suspects' money available without a licence from the Treasury. There were reports that some of the suspects had substantial sums of money in their accounts, allegedly wired from Pakistan for the purchase of airline tickets. Air passengers continued to face major disruptions at airports around the country today, although the problems were not as severe as yesterday. Both Mr Reid and Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander held out no immediate prospect of any lifting of the stringent extra security measures. Mr Alexander, who was attending a meeting of the National Aviation Security Committee later today to asses the situation, said the new measures would remain in place "only as long as the situation demands". The oldest of the suspects named today is 35 and the youngest 17. Thirteen of them are from east London - nine from Walthamstow, one from Chingford, one from Leyton, one from the Limehouse and Poplar area, and one from Clapton. Four are from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and the other two are from Birmingham and Stoke Newington, north London. In a statement on its website, the Bank of England said it had directed that none of the frozen funds "should be made available, directly or indirectly to any person, except under the authority of a licence". Meanwhile, Mr Reid today came to the defence of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in the face of claims he had been sidelined over the bomb plot. Mr Reid, who led the Government's response to the foiled attacks, insisted "conventional arrangements" had been followed. He said that as Home Secretary, he was responsible for security, answerable to Tony Blair, who is currently holidaying in the Caribbean, and to Mr Prescott. There was widespread criticism of Mr Prescott after it was disclosed that he did not attend the first two meetings yesterday of the Government's Cobra emergency response committee. Although he did attend a third meeting later in the day, that - like the earlier two - was chaired by Mr Reid. Mr Reid insisted that it was normal for the Home Secretary to chair Cobra meetings, even if the PM was present.

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