UK Police Have Foiled 15 Terror Plots Since 2000

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Sir Ian Blair

From 'This Is London': Police have foiled 15 terror plots since the turn of the century, with suspects continuing to emerge from unexpected quarters, senior officers said yesterday. The figure emerged as police backed the Government's controversial proposals to hold terrorist suspects for more than 28 days without charge.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, told MPs the 28-day limit would be breached "sooner rather than later". He said that suspects "suddenly emerge from left field" and have to be arrested at a very early stage, leaving officers with huge amounts of investigative work. Sir Ian said: "We have reached a point where at 28 days we feel sooner or later - and maybe sooner - something is going to happen to make that insufficient."

Scotland Yard anti-terror chief, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, initially told the Commons Counter-Terrorism Bill standing committee that 15 plots had been foiled since the July 7 attacks in 2005. This was later corrected to being since 2000. Several plots have already come to court and are known to the public. They include plots to behead a British Muslim soldier and a fertiliser bomb attack on the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.