Police chief urges vigilance as election beckons

Friday, 25 February 2005 12:00 AM

The April Royal wedding and the general election are among the "obvious and enormous targets" for a terror attack by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, the head of the Met has warned.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair yesterday urged heightened vigilance in the coming months, as Prince of Wales prepares to marry Camilla Parker Bowles on April 8 and the country is expected to go to the polls on May 5.

Sir Ian reminded his audience that the Madrid train blast atrocities last year occurred just days before the Spanish general election.

With this in mind, he warned the same atrocity could happen on British soil.

The attacks killed more than 170 commuters.

"Terrorists have long memories. They understand what happened in Madrid and know what the impact of that was on the Spanish electorate," Sir Ian said at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

"This year we are responsible for the EU presidency, presidency of the G8, a Royal wedding and a general election.

"There are obvious and enormous targets which we have to deal with."

Sir Ian said the Met would enforce any anti-terrorist measures introduced by the Blair administration.

"We're faced with a choice between the rule of law in a liberal democracy and the Law Lords' ruling that the current detention in Belmarsh is inappropriate," Sir Ian said.

"But we also have another set of human rights, the right not to be blown to pieces. The individuals that are a threat to us have to be controlled in some way and the Metropolitan Police will play a part in that control."

In December, Sir Ian's predecessor Sir John Stevens said police had prevented several planned terrorist attacks on British soil.

"We have stopped a Madrid," he said at the time.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair wrote in The Telegraph on Thursday: "The Madrid atrocity took place during the Spanish election campaign and it may be that such things can also be possibilities here too."

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