US Did Not Ignore Plane Bomber Intel

[darrels joy]

US Did Not Ignore Plane Bomber Intel


5:29pm UK, Tuesday January 05, 2010
Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Gordon Brown's spokesman says there is "no suggestion" the UK passed intelligence to the US that they did not act on, regarding the alleged Detroit plane bomber.



Mutallab has been charged with trying to blow up a US passenger plane.



It follows reports that the White House accused the Prime Minister's spokesman of making a "mistake" when he appeared, on Monday, to confirm the UK told the US that Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab had links to extremists over a year ago.

The Home Secretary today told the Commons the UK had passed "routine" intelligence to the US about Mutallab when he was denied a student visa and added to a British watchlist in April 2009.

But Alan Johnson said they did not flag him up as a terror threat as they had no reason to suspect him.

The issue of intelligence sharing was not raised when he met with his counterparts in the US Department of Homeland Security, the Home Secretary added.

No one measure will be enough to defeat inventive and determined terrorists and there is no single technology which we can guarantee will be 100% effective against such attacks.

Alan Johnson announces tougher airport security measures.



During a briefing to journalists on Tuesday, Prime Minister's spokesman said: "There is no suggestion that the UK passed intelligence to the US that they did not act on."

Sky's political correspondent Joey Jones said it had been an "awful" briefing.

"He tried to clear things up but only succeeded in muddying the waters still further," Jones said.

"After he read Downing Street's statement, the spokesman said there would be no further comment on intelligence issues.

"However, he continued to answer questions from journalists on the subject even saying: 'Whatever information was passed to the US, they did what they needed to do with it.'

"When I pointed out the contradiction, the spokesman said: 'It's not for me to comment on what the US should do with intelligence."

Jones went on: "It's not normal practice for government officials to discuss the way their share intelligence with other countries.

"It is plain that the Gordon Brown's official spokesman should not have allowed himself to be drawn into such sensitive territory."


Alan Johnson



The alleged bomber, 23, is in US custody after apparently trying to trigger a blast on an aeroplane approaching Detroit from Amsterdam.

He has been charged with trying to blow up the plane by setting off explosives stitched into his underwear.

The alleged attempt failed when he was stopped by passengers.

The Home Secretary also announced a raft of tougher security measures in the House of Commons.

He said there would be body scanners within three weeks, more sniffer dogs, more body searches and more training for staff identifying suspicious behaviour. More passenger profiling is being considered but he acknowledged it was a "sensitive" issue.

They do not have the legal power to use full body scanners in this way.

Terri Dowty, of civil rights group Action On Rights For Children, expresses concerns.



"No one measure will be enough to defeat inventive and determined terrorists and there is no single technology which we can guarantee will be 100% effective against such attacks," he told the House of Commons.
The Tories have accused Downing Street of behaving "disgracefully".

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "These are highly sensitive issues of national importance and should be dealt in a manner that is free from political opportunism and spin."

[82Rigger]

He has been charged with trying to blow up the plane by setting off explosives stitched into his underwear.

The alleged attempt failed when he was stopped by passengers.

I would be interested in knowing if other airliners in the air at this same time were notified of this attempt and that their passengers and crew were at risk.

[darrels joy]

The info that came out that day from the pilots was that only planes coming in from other countries were notified.

The other pilots were cranky.

Joy