Air Force planes were sighted over London today...
- Thread starter p_p_man
- Start date
Purple Haze
Literally Stimulated
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- Sep 19, 2000
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The British have planes?
plasticman33
Tight Jeans
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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- 32,694
Those Spitfire's are still flying?
Lost Cause
It's a wrap!
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2001
- Posts
- 30,949
Oop! Sorry...
The maps say they are over Baghdad!
*Scotland Yard chief Sir John Stevens said today that he is prepared to close Heathrow Airport if there is an "imminent" terrorist threat.
The airport is already at the centre of a massive security operation involving troops, amid fears that terrorists could try to shoot a jumbo jet out of the sky using a surface-to-air missile.
At a special briefing at New Scotland Yard, Sir John refused to give details about the present threat to Heathrow. He did, however, admit that the possibility of closing the airport was an option, while senior officers said police were being deployed along flight paths into Heathrow.
Sir John spoke as it was confirmed that ministers had seriously considered a total shutdown of Heathrow under the current state of alert. They decided not to take the ultimate step only because of the "catastrophic" impact on Britain's links with the world - and because it would have been a surrender to terrorism.
Other key details to emerge today are that:
* Police have mounted the biggest security operation ever seen, involving up to 2,000 of their officers and soldiers in a "pan-London operation" to protect targets in the capital;
* Secret government papers show "it is a certainty" that there are still groups and individuals at large in Britain who pose a " present and real" terrorist threat to public safety at home and abroad.
Sir John would not give details of other possible targets in London, but said that the Met is working closely with British Transport Police to protect the Tube.
As armed police and the Army maintained a ring of steel around Heathrow today, Home Secretary David Blunkett made clear that the closure of the world's busiest international airport had been seriously contemplated.
In clear confirmation of the fears of a missile attack on an incoming or outgoing flight, Mr Blunkett said that measures were now in place to watch passengers and protect aircraft, "particularly in terms of aircraft landing". The Home Secretary continued: "We hope we can get through the next few days without an incident. I hope we can."
Sir John Stevens said the present level of threat at Heathrow, though higher than the one facing the rest of London, was still not described as "imminent" - the highest level when security forces had identified suspects planning an immediate attack.
Troops could be deployed to guard central London in the event of an emergency terror threat, he said, but there were no plans to do so at present.
Details of the thinking behind the high-profile defences came as it emerged today that a genuinely independent assessment of secret Government papers shows a real and present threat.
Lord Carlile QC, the leading barrister appointed by the Government to examine the fairness of the new emergency terrorism laws brought in after 11 September, made absolutely clear that there are both foreigners and UK citizens plotting terrorism.
"From the material I have seen, it is a certainty that there remain in the United Kingdom individuals and groups who pose a present and real threat to the safety of the public here and abroad," he said.
Meanwhile, Labour Party chairman John Reid got into a muddle today after comparing the danger facing London with 11 September.
Asked if the deployment of troops at Heathrow was an over-the-top reaction as a war against Iraq looms, he had angrily replied: "This is not a game. This is about a threat of the nature that massacred thousands of people in New York."
But he later downplayed his warning and claimed his original remarks had been "misinterpreted".
Dr Reid told Radio 4's World At One: "It was precisely the suggestion that any government, this Government included, would use such a serious subject as international terrorism which gave us such things as New York for their own purposes of spin or public relations, I just found pretty contemptible.
"Now that was misinterpreted, I can understand why, by someone thinking that I had said that the scale of the threat at Heathrow was the same as the scale of the threat in New York. That was not meant. I am glad to have the chance
www.thisislondon.com
The maps say they are over Baghdad!
*Scotland Yard chief Sir John Stevens said today that he is prepared to close Heathrow Airport if there is an "imminent" terrorist threat.
The airport is already at the centre of a massive security operation involving troops, amid fears that terrorists could try to shoot a jumbo jet out of the sky using a surface-to-air missile.
At a special briefing at New Scotland Yard, Sir John refused to give details about the present threat to Heathrow. He did, however, admit that the possibility of closing the airport was an option, while senior officers said police were being deployed along flight paths into Heathrow.
Sir John spoke as it was confirmed that ministers had seriously considered a total shutdown of Heathrow under the current state of alert. They decided not to take the ultimate step only because of the "catastrophic" impact on Britain's links with the world - and because it would have been a surrender to terrorism.
Other key details to emerge today are that:
* Police have mounted the biggest security operation ever seen, involving up to 2,000 of their officers and soldiers in a "pan-London operation" to protect targets in the capital;
* Secret government papers show "it is a certainty" that there are still groups and individuals at large in Britain who pose a " present and real" terrorist threat to public safety at home and abroad.
Sir John would not give details of other possible targets in London, but said that the Met is working closely with British Transport Police to protect the Tube.
As armed police and the Army maintained a ring of steel around Heathrow today, Home Secretary David Blunkett made clear that the closure of the world's busiest international airport had been seriously contemplated.
In clear confirmation of the fears of a missile attack on an incoming or outgoing flight, Mr Blunkett said that measures were now in place to watch passengers and protect aircraft, "particularly in terms of aircraft landing". The Home Secretary continued: "We hope we can get through the next few days without an incident. I hope we can."
Sir John Stevens said the present level of threat at Heathrow, though higher than the one facing the rest of London, was still not described as "imminent" - the highest level when security forces had identified suspects planning an immediate attack.
Troops could be deployed to guard central London in the event of an emergency terror threat, he said, but there were no plans to do so at present.
Details of the thinking behind the high-profile defences came as it emerged today that a genuinely independent assessment of secret Government papers shows a real and present threat.
Lord Carlile QC, the leading barrister appointed by the Government to examine the fairness of the new emergency terrorism laws brought in after 11 September, made absolutely clear that there are both foreigners and UK citizens plotting terrorism.
"From the material I have seen, it is a certainty that there remain in the United Kingdom individuals and groups who pose a present and real threat to the safety of the public here and abroad," he said.
Meanwhile, Labour Party chairman John Reid got into a muddle today after comparing the danger facing London with 11 September.
Asked if the deployment of troops at Heathrow was an over-the-top reaction as a war against Iraq looms, he had angrily replied: "This is not a game. This is about a threat of the nature that massacred thousands of people in New York."
But he later downplayed his warning and claimed his original remarks had been "misinterpreted".
Dr Reid told Radio 4's World At One: "It was precisely the suggestion that any government, this Government included, would use such a serious subject as international terrorism which gave us such things as New York for their own purposes of spin or public relations, I just found pretty contemptible.
"Now that was misinterpreted, I can understand why, by someone thinking that I had said that the scale of the threat at Heathrow was the same as the scale of the threat in New York. That was not meant. I am glad to have the chance
www.thisislondon.com
Calamity Jane
Reverend Blue Jeans
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2001
- Posts
- 18,421
OMG. That is so weird. And my friend, who's in the airforce, called me this morning, and asked if I wanted to go to England. It's a SIGN!
Lost Cause
It's a wrap!
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2001
- Posts
- 30,949
Watch your back Le p.p.
A man is being questioned by anti-terrorism police after smuggling a live hand grenade into the UK through Gatwick Airport.
The north terminal of the Sussex airport was shut down and evacuated for five hours after the grenade was discovered in the 37-year-old Venezuelan's luggage on Thursday.
The airport was reopened at 2000 GMT as an investigation was launched to find out why the grenade was not detected in the plane's hold.
The man arrived in Britain on British Airways flight 2048 from Bogota in Columbia.
It reinforces that we really do have a problem because that's the other thing people have been saying - that we are making it all up
The flight stopped en route to London at Caracas in Venezuela and Barbados but it was not clear where he had boarded.
He was arrested under anti-terrorism laws and is being held at a central London police station.
"The problem did not become apparent until the man went through Customs," a BA spokesman said.
BA screens 100% of baggage before it is allowed on planes, and is investigating if the checks were performed by its own staff at Bogota or by local airport staff.
The arrest followed a security clamp-down at London's other major airport, Heathrow, which involved tanks and a military cordon.
The BBC's Margaret Gilmore said she had learned that the military operation was sparked by MI5 intelligence that a group was plotting to shoot down an aircraft.
Two men were arrested under the Terrorism Act near the airport on Thursday, but police said they were held as a "precautionary measure".
Explosives threat
The men, whose car was stopped near to the perimeter fence, were taken to Paddington Green police station in London for questioning, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
At Gatwick, hundreds of passengers were left stranded on board planes and in the terminal while the grenade was examined by explosives experts.
Among them were troops from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who had flown in from Germany for a last weekend with loved ones before being deployed to the Gulf.
Trooper Ryan Reid, 26, who was hoping to get a connecting flight to Edinburgh, said: "It's so frustrating. We haven't got much time and we're due to head back on Tuesday."
A spokesman for the home secretary said people should not "jump to conclusions" about the Gatwick arrest.
"It is not uncommon for people in airports to be discovered with some form of weaponry. It doesn't mean they are all al-Qaeda terrorists," he said.
However, Home Secretary David Blunkett told BBC Radio Sheffield the arrests showed the need for vigilance.
"First, it reinforces that we really do have a problem because that's the other thing people have been saying - that we are making it all up and that it doesn't exist which is absolute nonsense.
"Secondly, it means the security services are on the ball and are picking these things up.
"Thirdly, over the next few days we need to have to follow these leads through."
Nimrod surveillance
There are 450 troops and about 1,700 extra police officers patrolling at Heathrow - guarding key sites and stopping vehicles under flight paths within about eight miles of the airport.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a single Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft has been flying over London, "to aid communications on the ground".
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Blunkett said the terror threat at Heathrow is serious but the public should be "alert, not alarmed".
The home secretary was speaking in the House of Commons after bowing to pressure from opposition parties to deliver a statement on the security operation at the world's busiest airport.
He said he made it clear last year that there would be heightened security at airports and other key transport hubs and that there were terrorists intent on taking British lives and damaging the UK.
He echoed a point made by a Downing Street spokesman that there was no need for the public to cancel holidays.
Ministers have angrily denied the exercise was a publicity stunt ahead of a war against Iraq.
The government and police said the ongoing security alert was linked to fears that al-Qaeda could use the end of the Muslim festival of Eid, which runs until Saturday, as a trigger for an attack on London.
Extra police have also been drafted in at other airports, including Manchester, Stansted, Leeds Bradford International and Jersey.
*By the way, I watched yesterday, 6 FA-18's flying Combat Air Patrols over Seattle and Puget Sound, sumpin's up.
A man is being questioned by anti-terrorism police after smuggling a live hand grenade into the UK through Gatwick Airport.
The north terminal of the Sussex airport was shut down and evacuated for five hours after the grenade was discovered in the 37-year-old Venezuelan's luggage on Thursday.
The airport was reopened at 2000 GMT as an investigation was launched to find out why the grenade was not detected in the plane's hold.
The man arrived in Britain on British Airways flight 2048 from Bogota in Columbia.
It reinforces that we really do have a problem because that's the other thing people have been saying - that we are making it all up
The flight stopped en route to London at Caracas in Venezuela and Barbados but it was not clear where he had boarded.
He was arrested under anti-terrorism laws and is being held at a central London police station.
"The problem did not become apparent until the man went through Customs," a BA spokesman said.
BA screens 100% of baggage before it is allowed on planes, and is investigating if the checks were performed by its own staff at Bogota or by local airport staff.
The arrest followed a security clamp-down at London's other major airport, Heathrow, which involved tanks and a military cordon.
The BBC's Margaret Gilmore said she had learned that the military operation was sparked by MI5 intelligence that a group was plotting to shoot down an aircraft.
Two men were arrested under the Terrorism Act near the airport on Thursday, but police said they were held as a "precautionary measure".
Explosives threat
The men, whose car was stopped near to the perimeter fence, were taken to Paddington Green police station in London for questioning, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
At Gatwick, hundreds of passengers were left stranded on board planes and in the terminal while the grenade was examined by explosives experts.
Among them were troops from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who had flown in from Germany for a last weekend with loved ones before being deployed to the Gulf.
Trooper Ryan Reid, 26, who was hoping to get a connecting flight to Edinburgh, said: "It's so frustrating. We haven't got much time and we're due to head back on Tuesday."
A spokesman for the home secretary said people should not "jump to conclusions" about the Gatwick arrest.
"It is not uncommon for people in airports to be discovered with some form of weaponry. It doesn't mean they are all al-Qaeda terrorists," he said.
However, Home Secretary David Blunkett told BBC Radio Sheffield the arrests showed the need for vigilance.
"First, it reinforces that we really do have a problem because that's the other thing people have been saying - that we are making it all up and that it doesn't exist which is absolute nonsense.
"Secondly, it means the security services are on the ball and are picking these things up.
"Thirdly, over the next few days we need to have to follow these leads through."
Nimrod surveillance
There are 450 troops and about 1,700 extra police officers patrolling at Heathrow - guarding key sites and stopping vehicles under flight paths within about eight miles of the airport.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a single Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft has been flying over London, "to aid communications on the ground".
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Blunkett said the terror threat at Heathrow is serious but the public should be "alert, not alarmed".
The home secretary was speaking in the House of Commons after bowing to pressure from opposition parties to deliver a statement on the security operation at the world's busiest airport.
He said he made it clear last year that there would be heightened security at airports and other key transport hubs and that there were terrorists intent on taking British lives and damaging the UK.
He echoed a point made by a Downing Street spokesman that there was no need for the public to cancel holidays.
Ministers have angrily denied the exercise was a publicity stunt ahead of a war against Iraq.
The government and police said the ongoing security alert was linked to fears that al-Qaeda could use the end of the Muslim festival of Eid, which runs until Saturday, as a trigger for an attack on London.
Extra police have also been drafted in at other airports, including Manchester, Stansted, Leeds Bradford International and Jersey.
*By the way, I watched yesterday, 6 FA-18's flying Combat Air Patrols over Seattle and Puget Sound, sumpin's up.
G
Guest
Guest
I can imagine the drug barons scrutching their heads thinking of new ways to fly mules from the Carribean to UK.
peachykeen
bootie shaker
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2002
- Posts
- 9,194
Zmey the incoming flight path for Heathrow, barring extreme weather conditions, is essentially to fly east to west along/above the Thames; at least a hundred planes a day fly directly over central London.
G
Guest
Guest
peachykeen
bootie shaker
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2002
- Posts
- 9,194
Hanns, you dopey fuck, if you would care to take in some news or read a paper or something, the whole reason that the perimeter of Heathrow is ringed with tanks is because we KNOW that there are some scary folks around down here, the threat being from potential surface-to-air missiles on incoming planes, not from a plane suddenly arbitrarily diving from the sky. Eejit.
M
miles
Guest
Actually, pp had just exited the local pub after 14 hours when a flock of pigeons flew over.
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