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UK withdraws 'dirty' bomb warning
LONDON, England -- A 'dirty bomb' terror warning issued by the British government has been withdrawn -- just 30 minutes after it was released. The original assessment warned of terrorists plotting "something different, perhaps as surprising as the attacks on the World Trade Center" and suggested the possibility of poison gas attacks. But 30 minutes after journalists were given the document by the Home Office they were asked to return it so it could be replaced with a blander version omitting references to a 'dirty' bomb or poison gas. The security assessment document, and its replacement, were issued to the media by the UK's Home Office under the name of Home Secretary David Blunkett. Both versions urged people to remain vigilant to the continuing threat of Irish and international terrorism. The first warned: "They may attempt to use more familiar terrorist methods, such as leaving parcel or vehicle bombs in public places, to hijacking passenger aircraft. "However, they may try something different, perhaps as surprising as the attacks on the World Trade Centre, to the theatre siege in Moscow. "Maybe they will try to develop a so-called dirty bomb, or some kind of poison gas; maybe they will try to use boats or trains rather then planes. "The bottom line is that we simply cannot be sure." The replacement toned down the rhetoric and warned of "ever more dramatic and devastating" terror attacks but avoids mention of the specific threats. "If al Qaeda could mount an attack upon key economic targets, or upon our transport infrastructure, they would," it says. "If they could inflict damage upon the health of our population, they would." A Home Office spokeswoman said the first version was "an early draft" that had not been authorised by Blunkett. "We did not want to close peoples minds to other forms of risk or threat -- we didn't want to have something where the public thought `that is what we are looking for'," she told the Press Association. "We wanted a general reminder for a general threat." But Simon Hughes, the UK Liberal Democrat Party's homes affairs spokesman, called for the confusion to be explained. "Home Office mistakes are frequent enough," he told PA. "Muddles in the passport office, chaos in the immigration office and record overcrowding in prisons are all recent disaster areas for this department. "The Home Office must now give a full explanation to address the confusion caused by this document withdrawal." The alert was issued as Blunkett met Tom Ridge, the head of United States Homeland Security, to discuss measures being taken by London and Washington to protect the public from the threat of global terrorism. The document, Counter Terrorist Action Since 11 September, summarises progress in the war against international terrorism. In his foreword to the document, Blunkett wrote: "Since the September 11th attacks we have had some success in damaging al Qaeda's capability, and in thwarting attacks. "But the terrorist threat remains real, and serious. As recent events have shown, no country is immune from attack, and it simply is not possible to guarantee against more attacks in the future." He said there was "no such thing as 100 percent fool-proof security" and described al Qaeda as "dedicated fanatical extremists who have no regard for the loss of human life, including their own."
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