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Gas-threat London edges to work
LONDON, England -- Hundreds of thousands of commuters in London had a edgy journey to work on Monday after weekend reports of a poison gas plot to attack the London Underground. And tens of thousands of visitors during the pre-Christmas shopping rush were also showing nerves after the alleged plot -- reportedly by terrorists with links to al Qaeda -- was revealed in the Sunday Times newspaper. CNN's Walter Rodgers reported that travellers in London were "more than a little apprehensive" on Monday -- especially those on the capital's underground system -- known as "the Tube." Britain's foreign secretary Jack Straw moved to reassure commuters and visitors to London, saying the government had not received any information of a "serious and credible" threat to the network. "It is safe to travel on the Tube. People have, however, to be on the alert... because we are one of a number of countries that the al Qaeda organisation wishes to target," Straw told BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme. The Sunday Times said Britain's counter-intelligence service, MI5, had foiled a plot to release poison gas, possibly cyanide, on the Tube during rush hour. Monday newspapers in Britain followed up the story with their own revelations. The Daily Mirror said that four stations had been targeted, Baker Street, King's Cross, Waterloo and Bank. It said that a gang of terrorist suspects had been followed for six months by 120 anti-terrorist and intelligence officers. The paper said that just one holdall containing cyanide would be enough to kill tens of thousands of people. Scotland Yard police have refused to comment on the Sunday Times' report. A Home Office spokesman told the UK's Press Association that "If the government or police thought it was necessary to give the public a specific warning about any venue, including the Underground, it would do it without hesitation." A spokeswoman from London Underground appealed to passengers to be vigilant. She said passenger numbers did not appear to be down. "It's a normal Monday morning with passenger levels as high as ever," she told PA. Will Geddes, of International Corporate Protection, told CNN's Becky Anderson that passengers could take reassurance from increased levels of security on the Tube network since September 11. He also said previous gas attacks on underground rail systems had generally proved ineffective. The sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 killed 12 people and injured 5,000 others. Eight were killed in a bomb attack on the Paris Metro, also in 1995. But from 1960 to 1999, only eight attacks brought casualties. Geddes said that in the Tokyo sarin attack the terrorist group involved had mounted 10 previous unsuccessful attacks. Last week Prime Minister Tony Blair urged vigilance to prevent a terrorist attack in the UK. (Full story) Government sources insisted the case had nothing to do with Blair's warning. Earlier this month, Interpol Secretary Ronald Noble warned that al Qaeda operatives were preparing simultaneous attacks in several countries. (Full story)
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