Another day, another bomb.

A bomb has been disabled near Piccadilly London. Lets hope it's a one off :neutral:

Last Updated: Friday, 29 June 2007, 10:09 GMT 11:09 UK



Car bomb found in central London

Police say the area will be closed for some time
Police have disabled a car bomb containing gas cylinders in the heart of central London.
Officers carried out a controlled explosion after reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in Haymarket shortly before 0200 BST (0100 GMT).

The area was cordoned off while police examined what they described as a "potentially viable explosive device".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat".

He added the public "need to be alert" at all times.

The prime minister's comments were echoed by the new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who has chaired a meeting of the government's emergency unit Cobra.

The BBC's Andy Tighe said the timing was significant coming a day after Gordon Brown became prime minister, and with the second anniversary of the 7 July bombings approaching.


A witness reported seeing gas canisters being removed from the car, a silver Mercedes, at around 0400 BST (0300 GMT).


TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS
Piccadilly Circus tube station closed
Haymarket closed between Pall Mall and Piccadilly Circus
Buses diversions in the area with delays of more than 45 minutes
Heavy traffic around Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross Rd
Coventry St, Whitcomb St, Shaftesbury Ave and Cambridge Circus closed


Eye-witness accounts

Bouncers from a nearby nightclub said they saw the car being driven erratically before it crashed into a bin. They said the driver then got out and ran off.

Police sources have confirmed that gas canisters were involved in the incident, close to Piccadilly Circus.

But Scotland Yard has refused to comment on reports that a large number of nails were found in the car.

One police source said the bomb was a "big device" and posed a real and substantial threat to the area around Haymarket, which is in London's theatreland.

But a Westminster source said it was a "relatively small" device.

Dozens of forensic officers examined the scene and the car was removed for further examination.

Scotland Yard said detectives from Counter Terrorism Command were investigating the potential bomb plot and will be checking the CCTV in the area.

Police are believed to have also carried out a search of other key areas in the capital shortly after the discovery of the car.


A spokesman said: "Police were called to reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in Haymarket, shortly before 2am this morning.

"As a precautionary measure the immediate area was cordoned off while the vehicle was examined by explosives officers.

"They discovered what appeared to be a potentially viable explosive device. This was made safe."

Police say Haymarket is likely to remain closed for some time and severe travel disruption is predicted.

Piccadilly Circus Tube station is closed and trains are not stopping, while local bus services are being diverted.

The BBC's Daniela Relph, at the scene, said the heart of London was completely closed off and police officers were concentrating on keeping people away.

'No intelligence'

Professor Paul Wilkinson, a terrorism expert, said a passer-by had tipped off the police and officers would be concerned they did not have prior intelligence.

The current terrorism threat level has been classed as severe - meaning an attack is highly likely - since 14 August 2006.

Intelligence sources said they were keeping an open mind on who was responsible for the car bomb.


Surrounding streets were closed

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said the incident had "come from nowhere" and that the driver of the car was now Britain's "most wanted".

He added that the police would be in charge of the investigation and that CCTV was the key to finding the "first clue" as to who was behind the attempted bombing.

John O'Connor, former commander of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, told BBC News the incident bore all the "hallmarks" of a failed suicide bomb attempt. And it was "lucky" the police had received the tip-off .

Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "It does appear to be a very serious incident.

"My first reaction to this is, thank God that we have police and explosives experts who can make these devices safe, and the arrangements they appear to have done, and that nobody has been injured."

Extra security measures have been put in place at Westminster, MPs and peers have been told.

I heard on news they found nails, terrible. In 1982 i was at London Zoo when a nail bomb went off, horses were killed. It was terrible.

Another possible bomb, glad i don't live in London anymore, been in the vicinity of three.

Hello Lottie, I was in Birmingham when one went off back in the 1970s was quite scared at the time but still finished my pint with me mates.:rolleyes:

Such a disturbing happening.. I love London.. I have a cousin there at present.. and well, just to think innocent people walking by and all.. Just is so insane!!!
Also, wild fires going out of control in Athens,Greece.. What is happening...??? PEACE AND LOVE is so much nicer...so, give a smile today to your fellow man.. after all.. LIFE is short...

Another possible bomb, glad i don't live in London anymore, been in the vicinity of three.


Sad to say I have been bombed many times in some S**t Holes on this world of ours.

Hello Lottie, I was in Birmingham when one went off back in the 1970s was quite scared at the time but still finished my pint with me mates.:rolleyes:

It just becomes part of your life, i was near Hyde Park, 1982 when a nail bomb went off, along from Canary Wharf when that went off and was caught in middle of my local shopping centre when there was a suspicious package. I didn't get scared, just went home. The vibrations from them are strange, it's a bit surreal.

I travelled through Warren Street an hour before the botched 21/7 bombing plot. It didn't bother me travelling back on the tube that evening. Unless you never go outside, you can never be sure you won't be blown up. Being in London doesn't make me nervous for that reason.

But it's disappointing really. To think these guys are probably brainwashed into thinking they're doing the World a favour. It's just so futile, so helpless and so god **** selfish.

Explosives-packed car defused in London

LONDON -- Police in London's bustling nightclub and theater district on Friday defused a bomb that could have killed hundreds after an ambulance crew spotted smoke coming from a Mercedes filled with a lethal mix of gasoline, propane and nails, authorities said.

The bomb near Piccadilly Circus was powerful enough to have caused ``significant injury or loss of life'' at a time when hundreds were in the area, British anti-terror police chief Peter Clarke said.

The discovery resurrected fears that followed the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings that killed 52 people on three London subways and a bus and failed attacks on the transit system just two weeks later.

``We are currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism,'' Britain's new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said after an emergency meeting of top officials.

Two officials in Washington briefed on the investigation said British authorities had so far found no terrorist link in the early hours of the investigation. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said the inquiry had yielded no suspects and no definitive description of anyone leaving the vehicle.

Police were examining footage from closed-circuit TV cameras, Clarke said, hoping the surveillance network that covers much of central London will help them track down the driver of the Mercedes.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee who was briefed on the investigation, said British authorities had recovered a cell phone that they believed was to be the trigger for the explosion.

``They found a cell phone and it was going to be used to detonate the bomb,'' he said.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said there has been some investigation into a second vehicle that could be associated with the first one, which contained explosives.

The events unfolded when an ambulance crew — responding to a call just before 1:30 a.m. about a person who had fallen at a Haymarket nightclub — noticed smoke coming from a car parked in front of the building, Clarke said.

The crew alerted police, and a bomb squad manually disabled the device, Clarke said.

Photographs of the metallic green Mercedes show a canister bearing the words ``patio gas,'' indicating it was propane, next to the car. The back door was open with blankets spilling out. The car was removed from the scene after a bomb squad disabled the explosives.

The busy Haymarket thoroughfare is packed with restaurants, bars, a cinema complex and West End theaters, and was buzzing at that hour. ``Phantom of the Opera'' is playing at Her Majesty's Theater down the street.

It was ladies' night Thursday, nicknamed ``Sugar 'N' Spice,'' at the Tiger Tiger nightclub, a three-story venue that at full capacity can pack in 1,770 people and stays open until 3 a.m.

Police also were investigating the possibility that the planned attack could have been criminal in nature. Authorities closed the Piccadilly Circus subway station for eight hours and cordoned off a 10-block area around the scene.

Police closed a major road on the edge of Hyde Park to investigate a suspicious vehicle. Sky News and the British Broadcasting Corp. reported that the vehicle was linked to the foiled plot, although a police spokeswoman denied any connection had been established.

Another suspicious car led police to briefly close Fleet Street — once home to the bulk of Britain's press and now populated by some of London's largest law firms and the Royal Courts of Justice.

A British security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the security details, said there were similarities between the device and vehicle bombs used by insurgents in Iraq. But the two officials in Washington said it was too early in the investigation to tell if those similarities were significant.

The British security official also said the domestic spy agency MI5 would examine possible connections between Friday's bomb attempt and at least two similar foiled plots — to attack a London nightclub in 2004 and to pack limousines in New York with gas canisters and shrapnel.

In the 2004 plot, accused members of an al-Qaida-linked terror cell were convicted of conspiring to cause explosions. One of the possible targets M15 overheard them discussing was the Ministry of Sound, one of London's biggest and most famous nightclubs.

One man is heard saying the plan was to ``Blow the whole thing up.''

Gordon Brown, who only Wednesday succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister, called it a reminder that Britain faces a serious and continuous threat of terrorist attacks: ``I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days.''

There had been no prior intelligence of planned attacks from the al-Qaida terror network, a British government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

Londoners were relatively unfazed by the news. People crowded onto buses and subway trains during the afternoon rush hour, shopping streets were busy and sidewalk cafes did brisk business.

``Sure, it's disturbing, and obviously it reminds everyone of 7/7,'' said Ian Hiskos, 32, eating at a cafe across the block from the police cordon on Haymarket. ``I try not to think about these things.''

The terror threat level in Britain has remained at ``severe'' — meaning a terrorist attack is highly likely — since last August.

On Friday, Metropolitan Police said it sent more officers on the streets of central London. Authorities also stepped up security at Wimbledon.

One analyst said the bombers could be trying to send Britain's new leader a message.

``It's a way of testing Gordon Brown,'' said Bob Ayers, a security expert at the Chatham House think tank. ``It's not too far-fetched to assume it was designed to expedite the decision on withdrawal (from Iraq).''

The U.S. government urged Americans abroad to be vigilant but officials said they saw no potential terrorist threat in the United States ahead of next week's July 4 Independence Day holiday.

``At this time we are characterizing this as a localized incident in London,'' said Laura Keehner, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

New York strengthened its already tight security as a precaution, putting additional police in Times Square and the mass transit system.

``We're going to ramp up a little bit, but nothing dramatic,'' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. ``We'll take a little bit of extra precaution. Some of you will notice, some of you won't — but we have to be cognizant.''

By David Stringer
Associated Press

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/06/29/news/doc46851015929e3104073605.txt

There's something terribly wrong going on here that is going to get even more out of hand and Im afraid its all down to Blair and Bush for turning the world against America and the UK..
I'm a Christian although not a practising one and I'm reading that Christians are targeted all over the world.
WTF is going on here..Im born and bred here and my Dad and Grandad fought in World Wars for this country and its getting to the stage where fanatic lunatics from half way round the world are taking over this laughing stock of a country and not being happy with that and the hundreds of pounds a week in benefits etc are allowed to spew their hatred for this country loud and clear wherever they want and be allowed to get away with it..
Its got nothing to do with selfishness..its down to pure brainwashed hatred that is being taught and instilled right here in the UK.
And I hope its sorted out very soon and this Idiotic Leniant attitude is stamped on and these fanatics that smile at us daily on our Liverpool streets are F.ked off once and for all back to where they come from..

Mark my words...there will be suicide bombers strapped with explosives walking around St Johns Market next...
Well....yer catch my drift ..dont yer..


23.00 HOURS..EDITED..

I have just watched Granada news and a Magistrate has walked out of court and thrown the whole trial up in the air.
He Walked out because a Muslim woman would not remove her facial veil in court..
HE..YES..HE..IS NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR WALKING OUT OF COURT

ARE THEY LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF AT US BEHIND THESE VEILS OR WHAT

Why does everything have to be about Iraq, Blair and Bush? 9/11 was before Iraq. Do you really think that if Blair and Bush had never come to power, there wouldn't be bombings?!?!

Do you think that when your dad and grandad fought in the war, people went round blaming Churchill/Chamberlain for getting involved in a war that was with a different country? Do you think people blamed our bombing of Germany for their bombing of us?!

This is rubbish. Being pissed off with Britain's foreign policy DOES NOT justify taking innocent human lives. Ever. This is ridiculous!! If we had Blair, Brown, Cameron or WHOEVER in this country, with whatever foreign policy, there would STILL BE BOMBINGS. Why? Because the extremist Islamic militants hate the West. Not because of our influence in the Middle East, but because they're brainwashed into thinking our way of life is wrong.

Mark my words...there will be suicide bombers strapped with explosives walking around St Johns Market next...
I doubt it, they wouldn't dare. Besides, St John's is a horrible pit, especially 'Food Court'...

He Walked out because a Muslim woman would not remove her facial veil in court..
Religion shouldn't exclude people from rules. If in British courts it is customary to show your face, then people shouldn't be excused because their 'faith' (cough! brainwashing!) doesn't permit it.

Get real snappel and see whats going on around yer Lad..
Were not differing about photographs here...
And what I've said WILL happen..
Maybe not in Johns Market so grow up eh and less of the smart ars.e.

I believe this bomb on the first day proper of the new P.M. was a reminder that we are still a target. That puts paid to anything Blair done being the reason then as he's gone and yes, being part of the capitalist Western world that they hate (or are jealous of) we would have been targetted anyway, so what do you do? Walk on eggshells and be nice to them so that they don't bomb us, pay lip service?

Those very same religious men who flew the planes into the twin towers were out drinking, snacking on Mackie D's and spendish dosh on call girls in the days leading up to 9/11 if we are to believe what was written so, so much for following their beliefs - hogwash.

I believe this bomb on the first day proper of the new P.M. was a reminder that we are still a target. That puts paid to anything Blair done being the reason then as he's gone and yes, being part of the capitalist Western world that they hate (or are jealous of) we would have been targetted anyway, so what do you do? Walk on eggshells and be nice to them so that they don't bomb us, pay lip service?

Those very same religious men who flew the planes into the twin towers were out drinking, snacking on Mackie D's and spendish dosh on call girls in the days leading up to 9/11 if we are to believe what was written so, so much for following their beliefs - hogwash.


How cause Blair's gone a day Ged is it nothing to do with him matey !!
Hitlers been gone how many years and everyone still hates Germany.

Well you'd think with a new man in power they might wanna say let's sit down and talk, new beginnigs and all that and if you think like he thought then you know what to expect ie. what's happened in the past. Who has got off on the wrong foot on day 1 - Brown or the bombers?

If we hadn't gone to war there would still be some excuse to include us in hostilities such as generally supporting the U.S. or allowing air space to be used, or supplying amunition or money or burgers.....

You can't win really. Bush should never have put Blair in a position of either you're with us or you're against us (it wasn't just aimed at Blair mind)

However, if we could rewind the clock and do nothing and let the middle East fight it all out with each other, including not intervening in the first Gulf war, we would be the worlds worst then too.

I firmly believe that if Swarzkopf and Powell had been allowed to go after Saddam at that point (which they very much wanted to) when public opinion (if not a U.N. resolution) was on their side, then there wouldn't have been a need for this 2nd war.

What did Saddam do wrong Ged..and Im not talking about butchering his own....where were the WOMD the war was started over.
(Butchering his own ??..Could have been talking about trigger happy senator Bush there couldn't I with all his death sentences)

Hitlers been gone how many years and everyone still hates Germany.
What kind of single-minded comment is that?! Why would people hate Germany?!

Don't cry then, when people say 'Aren't Scousers a bunch of violent chip-on-their-shoulder thieves...'.

You're showing just the same ignorance.

Oh, and your Saddam/Bush analogy is seriously flawed. The death sentence in the US is for convicted criminals. Bush doesn't go to settlements of people he doesn't like and throw gas around, and murder civilians for the hell of it. People are deluded if they think Saddam can be compared with Bush. Yes, they both did bad things, but they were different things. Where you rather live, the USA or Saddam-era Iraq?

The rest of your post descended into apparently meaningless banter, so I won't comment on that...

:PDT_Aliboronz_24:Ill go along with, Snappel,you all come out with a load of
ranting crap.
Ernie.

Nice song Gerard, just playing it now, I do remember the hot dog fella on Victoria St facing Gatsby's though and the abuse he used to take off drunken revellers at letting out time, but I was a good boy of course. Don't forget this would have been practically a generation on from your time :unibrow:

Yes, Saddam butchered his own, helped by weapons supplied by the West of course and I think it was knee jerk reaction to lump him in with Al Quieda after 9/11 and it was some unfinished business by daddy bush - 'go get him son' - but the invasion of Kuwait wasn't on as what would have followed, maybe Jordan, Syria - who knows if left to get his own way.

I don't think you can compare Bush's death row killings of truly brutal people including mass murderers.

There might be no way back now regarding getting terrorists off our back. I see the middle East as not moved on much since Biblical times, read about the territorial blood lust in the old testament, I know you haven't looked at it since Fr Baker and I know some parts of it are fairy stories (such as Lot and the pillar of salt, it was actually sugar)

Glasgow Airport car bomb?

Nice song Gerard, just playing it now, I do remember the hot dog fella on Victoria St facing Gatsby's though and the abuse he used to take off drunken revellers at letting out time, but I was a good boy of course. Don't forget this would have been practically a generation on from your time :unibrow:

Yes, Saddam butchered his own, helped by weapons supplied by the West of course and I think it was knee jerk reaction to lump him in with Al Quieda after 9/11 and it was some unfinished business by daddy bush - 'go get him son' - but the invasion of Kuwait wasn't on as what would have followed, maybe Jordan, Syria - who knows if left to get his own way.

I don't think you can compare Bush's death row killings of truly brutal people including mass murderers.

There might be no way back now regarding getting terrorists off our back. I see the middle East as not moved on much since Biblical times, read about the territorial blood lust in the old testament, I know you haven't looked at it since Fr Baker and I know some parts of it are fairy stories (such as Lot and the pillar of salt, it was actually sugar)


Your quite correct Ged in assuming that I haven't looked at the "Good Book" in years..
Exactly for the reason's you mention..its full of tall tales...Apologies mate if that makes me uneducated or illiterate..Id prefer to think of myself as not gullible and easily taken in by the Catholic Church..the most corrupt organisation on the face of the earth...I do believe in my God though mate and speak to him regularly..I dont have to go to Church to do that so dont be fooled by all my actin' the goat M'larky..My God is the same God as yours Lad..just that I have no faith or belief in the people who are supposed to run his organisation..(Except the Sisters in Our Area)

Oh..I tell a Lie..I have seen a Bible recently...I put the one that was in my Portugese Villa under the leg of the table to stop it rocking.

I haven't been to Church in years as well yer know Lad..and neither has Kate who took our Kids every...yes..every week till they were about 12..
Kate was brought up that way see Ged..as you know Her Dad went around with the plate in St Joeys and dedicated his life to that Church..
Everything was St Joeys this..St Joeys that in their household and Her Dad used to march the 7 of them to church since they were little for about 15 years...
Why did Kate stop going Ged..Because the priest who we both know mate robbed the Money and disappeared with thousands of pounds from St Joey's..
And Her Dad still kept going along with the "Faithful"..

Do you remember "Shakey Joe" Ged..This might have been before your time in Gerard Gardens..
Shakey Joe was a local priest who used to go around Gerard Gardens and would always be in peoples houses who had small kids..
He would sit the Kids on his knee and his leg would would start going ten to the dozen..
Do you get what I'm saying here Ged..The Dirty B was getting his "Buzz" out of this..everyone knew this in Gerard Gardens but again the "Faithful" turned a blind eye..

Men in frocks and the disgusting things they get up to...Best not go there eh Ged.....
Good luck with your faith Ged...I know exactly where mine is dont worry about that Lad.

:PDT_Aliboronz_24:Ill go along with, Snappel,you all come out with a load of
ranting crap.
Ernie.


"And what I've said WILL happen..
Maybe not in Johns Market so grow up eh and less of the smart ars.e."


Less than 24 hours in fact after saying the above a suicide bomber drives into Glasgow airport..

I'm really sorry Ernie for coming out "With a load of ranting crap"..

And I do apologise snappel if I come across as a thieving Scouser..It doesn't surprise me anymore the rubbish you come out with on here.
It Doesn't surprise me any more either your allowed to get away with it.
But if you think your insults to me are gonna make me leave this group then think again..
This group is for Liverpool people..and that includes real Scousers mate and not stuck up spoilt brats.

Kev..wasn't Scouser Dave suspended for saying less than that..
I warned you Kev that the longer you let snappel get away with this the worse it would get..

I'm a thieving Scouser now Kev according to snappel...sort it out eh Lad.

Or do you still think snappel is doing nothing wrong cause he takes great pics stuck up a crane where he shouldn't be putting peoples lives and jobs at risk...And he's got the cheek to go on about selfish drivers breaking the law..

Have a guess where my money is on this one and who will be allowed to continue insulting me and getting away with it.
I just wish snappel you would say all this to my face.

I should go with my gut feelings about these contentious threads, is it any wonder I got rid of the Politics section?

Snappel/ Gerard. Play nicely or I'll give you 1000 lines to write out.

I should go with my gut feelings about these contentious threads, is it any wonder I got rid of the Politics section?

Snappel/ Gerard. Play nicely or I'll give you 1000 lines to write out.


So thats it is it..Off Scott free again..
You'll give me 1000 lines ??...what for..

Doesnt it bother you Kev everyone knows there is something strange going on here regarding snappel getting away with murder ??

So thats it is it..Off Scott free again..
You'll give me 1000 lines ??...what for..

Doesnt it bother you Kev everyone knows there is something strange going on here regarding snappel getting away with murder ??

A general warning posted with a friendly/ humorous tone, wasn't menat to be taken so seriously.

:PDT_Aliboronz_24:Ill go along with, Snappel,you all come out with a load of
ranting crap.
Ernie.

My crap Is humourous and I probably have an excuse somewhere.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Gerard. My comment regarding the old testament was more to do with the middle East being still in that mindset rather than whether you truly read the good book. As for men in frocks, I did put 'Do you really want to hurt me' on the jukebox once in the United Powers.

Gerard. My comment regarding the old testament was more to do with the middle East being still in that mindset rather than whether you truly read the good book. As for men in frocks, I did put 'Do you really want to hurt me' on the jukebox once in the United Powers.

No probs mate..apart from your taste in Music :PDT11